SEC, DOJ Investigating Insider Stock Sales at Silicon Valley Bank: WSJ

The U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, according to a report today from The Wall Street Journal.

The investigations include looking at stock sales SVB’s bosses made before the bank crashed, WSJ reported. The Justice Department has involved its fraud prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco, it added.

Just two weeks before the collapse of SVB, its CEO Greg Becker sold $3.6 million of company stock, regulatory filings show.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Tuesday’s report says that the investigations are in their preliminary phases and may not lead to charges or allegations of wrongdoing.

California banking regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week after rumors of liquidity issues led to a run on the bank, with customers attempting to withdraw $42 billion in one day alone.

SVB’s closure was the second biggest banking failure in the history of U.S. finance after Washington Mutual’s fall in 2008.

A long list of crypto companies had exposure to the bank, which catered to the tech industry.

SVB’s collapse came after major crypto-friendly bank Silvergate said it was closing. And just days after SVB closed, New York regulators decided to shut Signature Bank, which also had many clients in the digital asset industry.

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve Board announced that Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr was leading a review of the supervision and regulation of Silicon Valley Bank.