American billionaire Warren Buffett has studied banks and invested in them for decades, and for many years he talked about the bad practices that led to the collapse of financial institutions such as Silicon Valley Bank or Credit Suisse, reports Markets Insider.

Several US newspapers reported that White House officials contacted Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, in recent days to ask him about what to do after the sudden bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank caused major turbulence in financial markets around the world.

US President Joe Biden personally left to discuss the situation on March 13, assuring that the US banking system is healthy and there is no cause for concern.

But assurances from the leader of the White House could not put an end to the epidemic in the markets, even if Biden announced that the money of all depositors in Silicon Valley Bank would be reimbursed by the US government.

Some of Buffett’s comments over the years echo the current banking crisis, depositor insurance, bailouts and poor risk management.

Warren Buffett about banks, irresponsible bankers and bartenders

“[Băncile] they are a business that can be very good if managed correctly. There is no magic recipe. You just have to stay away from any rash actions. It’s a bit like an investment. You don’t have to do anything very clever. You just have to avoid doing things that are incredibly stupid.”

“The banking sector is not one of our favorites. When assets are 20 times equity—a common percentage in the industry—mistakes on just a small percentage of assets can wipe out a large chunk of equity. And mistakes were the rule rather than the exception in big banks.”

“The behavior of a banker should be at least as good as the behavior of a responsible bartender who, when necessary, forgoes the profit on the next drink in order not to let a drunken man on the highway. In recent years, unfortunately, many leading investment firms have held the morals of bartenders to an intolerably high standard. Lately, those walking down the road to Wall Street have not encountered heavy traffic.”

But the experience of the past few days has shown that even cautious investments are not immune to major market turbulence, with Berkshire Hathaway’s share price falling from $480 on March 8 to $448.9 on March 20.

Buffett’s investment fund owns stakes in several US banks that have suffered since SVB’s collapse, including Citigroup, US Bancorp and Bank of New York Mellon Corp.