The shock collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has erupted in a volley of finger pointing at central banks, regulators, venture capitalists and governments. However, this is only part of the story. Until we understand the cyclical nature of financial crises, and take a step back to contextualise our current situation, we will always be on the back foot when it comes to preventing these crises, writes Huw Macartney.

We’re asking the wrong kind of questions surrounding the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Five main issues have emerged thus far: business models; stability; moral hazard; regulation; and tightening. With depositors’ money on the line and the potential failure of even more banks, these five immediate and pressing issues are understandable. But there is never a right time to ask a sixth set of questions – those around financial, regulatory and monetary policy cycles. Without considering the broader picture, we remain stuck in a Groundhog Day loop, where crisis follows crisis with disconcerting regularity and similarities, and yet the authorities (alarmingly!) seem repeatedly shocked when the loop repeats itself. Until authorities recognise and get ahead of the cyclical nature of financial crises, our responses to crisis will always be on the back foot. A new cyclical argument for regulatory politics needs to be built.