On nonsingularity of block two-by-two matrices

We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for guaranteeing the nonsingularity of a block two-by-two matrix by making use of the singular value decompositions and the Moore-Penrose pseudoinverses of the matrix blocks. These conditions are complete, and much weaker and simpler than those given by Decker and Keller [D.W. Decker, H.B. Keller, Multiple limit point bifurcation, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 75 (1980) 417-430], and may be more easily examined than those given by Bai [Z.-Z. Bai, Eigenvalue estimates for saddle point matrices of Hermitian and indefinite leading blocks, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 237 (2013) 295-306] from the computational viewpoint. We also derive general formulas for the rank of the block two-by-two matrix by utilizing either the unitarily compressed or the orthogonally projected sub-matrices.