Because in this case it’s a bank and they aren’t selling equity to invest in new business/products. SVB had to liquidate good assets quickly, so it sold them a

Because in this case it’s a bank and they aren’t selling equity to invest in new business/products. SVB had to liquidate good assets quickly, so it sold them at a loss. That means its capitalization compared to liabilities (deposits) could be in “uh oh” territory. So it sells capital on the open market to shore up its liquid capital. Yes, most every capital raise works mostly like this. But it’s notable here because of what it portends.