“Key SVB officials showed a pattern of risky and questionable decision making that may have contributed to the bank’s instability and collapse.”
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), calling on them to conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine whether senior executives and other key officials involved in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) met their statutory and regulatory responsibilities or violated civil or criminal laws.
“A series of reports revealed that key SVB officials showed a pattern of risky and questionable decision making that may have contributed to the bank’s instability and collapse and the ripple effects being felt throughout the economy,” wrote Senators Blumenthal and Warren. “The actions of bank executives and other individuals associated with the collapse raised the specter of potential illegal or inappropriate behavior that included self-dealing, failure to meet disclosure requirements and fiduciary duties, insider trading, and more, and your investigation should thoroughly investigate these matters.”
The senators are calling on DOJ and SEC to thoroughly investigate these matters, including:
“One of the enduring failures in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis was the inability or unwillingness of DOJ and bank regulators to hold bank executives accountable for behavior that destroyed millions of lives and cost trillions of dollars of wealth. The nation’s bank regulators cannot make the same mistake twice. We are not prejudging this matter, and are not in position to do so. But your agencies have extensive investigative authority and should use it appropriately,” continued the senators.
The full text of the letter can be found here,
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