Any realistic parent will be sure to impart this classic piece of wisdom to their children: “There is no such thing as a sure thing.”

And as we’ve recently come to learn from the crisis experienced by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), that logic clearly holds true for investing in so-called low-risk U.S. treasury bonds as well.

Unfortunately, the result of SVB’s historic collapse — caused by a combination of factors that include a lack of foresight on behalf of the bank’s leaders, a lack of meaningful regulation from the federal government, volatile market conditions of the past three years and a panic-induced bank run that might not have even happened in the pre-social-media era  — will result in continuing public unrest about the places in which they trust to handle their money. Even a bank that seems to be booming, it seems, is no sure thing when it comes to securing your finances.

Older Rhode Islanders understand the precarious nature with which our entire financial system balances all too well. Just over 30 years ago, the state saw the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression. That was brought on by classic Rhode Island corruption and grift. Although the same factors cannot be blamed for SVB’s collapse and the damage it has wrought and will continue to bring, the end result of increasing public unrest and lost trust will occur nonetheless.

There is a lesson to be learned from this event — though few free-market advocates will want to consider it. Regulation is so often seen as the boogeyman of productive capitalism; stymying profits and kneecapping growth. But in the case of holding our financial institutions accountable for the millions of lives they are tasked with protecting through the responsible shepherding of their money, perhaps it is unwise to leave them to their own devices when deciding how to gamble with their clients’ dollars.

As for the public concern, if you have less than $250,000 in a big bank or local bank or credit union, your money is federally insured even if the bank goes under. For business owners with more than $250,000 to consider, you might look into diversifying where you keep your money to spread out the risk a bit, and keep a watchful eye on your bank’s stock price and behavior. The worst thing anyone can do, as we have just seen, is withdraw everything out of panic.

Perhaps the only sure thing in life is that panicking is never the answer.