Bank balance sheets are very complex. Analysing them is not an expertise that most small businesses have or should have.

Banks are heavily regulated. They have to pass stress tests all the time. The regulator is paid for by the taxpayer to stop things like this from happening, but apparently they were asleep at the wheel.

Also, helping depositors out of this mess doesn’t necessarily mean that taxpayers lose a cent. It’s a timing issue. The assets are there.