'He got what he wanted': Elizabeth Warren pens open letter torching Silicon Valley Bank CEO

14 March 2023

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has penned a blistering open letter to Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker demanding answers regarding his role in the appeal to Congress for a rollback of banking regulations.

On Tuesday, March 14, the Democratic lawmaker focused on a statement submitted to the Senate Banking Committee by Becker "calling on Congress to reduce safety standards for 'mid-sized' banks like your own."

According to The Hill, Warren described Becker's 2015 testimony as misleading as she noted that his claims disguised the risks the bank was facing at the time.

Per the news outlet: "The bank had $209 billion in assets at the time of its collapse and federal regulators intervened after determining it posed a risk to the wider financial system."

"Despite your assurances to Congress that SVB was sufficiently protected from risk because of your various efforts, it is now clear that SVB was wholly unequipped to independently assess its business's risk," she wrote.

The lawmaker also highlighted the absence of a chief risk-assessment officer in the last several months before the financial institution's collapse. She also pointed to the piece of legislation signed by former President Donald Trump that implemented a number of deregulatory laws.

"Had SVB been subject to Dodd-Frank rules undone by the bank would have been required to maintain stronger liquidity and capital requirements and conduct regular stress tests that would have required SVB to shore up its business to weather the type of stress it experienced last week," she wrote.

Warren later added, "While you and company executives appear to have been successful in cashing out before the crash, SVB's customers were not as lucky. Many depositors were unable to access their funds last week, leaving small businesses and nonprofits questioning how they were going to make payroll in time."

In addition to the letter, Warren reiterated her arguments in a fiery tweet calling out Becker on Twitter.

"Silicon Valley Bank's CEO lobbied for weaker rules," she tweeted. "He got what he wanted from Congress — and abdicated his most basic responsibilities. Who did he meet with in D.C. and when? How much time and money was spent on lobbying? Becker should return his pay and bonus. NOW."

The Hill's full report is available here.

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