The U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are probing the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, the second biggest collapse since the Great Financial Crisis in 2008.
According to a Bloomberg report, “The probes, which are in early stages, are being handled by prosecutors in the Justice Department’s fraud section, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
The separate investigations are in their early stages and may not result in charges or allegations of wrongdoing. They are also looking at stock sales made by SVB Financial executives just days before the Silicon Valley Bank folded.
The week before the bank collapsed, both the CEO of SVB Financial, Greg Becker, and the CFO, Daniel Beck, reportedly sold some of their shares. On February 27, Becker sold 12,451 shares for a profit of roughly $2.3 million.
On the same day, Beck sold shares in the amount of just over $575,000, or almost one-third of his SVB holdings.
The Silicon Valley Bank collapse shook everyone with multiple firms hit with huge financial issues as a result. The shareholders sued Silicon Valley Bank and its executives for not disclosing it would become “particularly susceptible” to a bank run as interest rates rose.
