Due to his refusal to agree to forfeit any of the $10 million per year he got from the defunct lender, the former Silicon Valley Bank CEO is under criticism for the institution’s failure.
Greg Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, has come under fire for his role in the bank’s failure, but he remains defiant in his refusal to return any of the $10 million he earned from the defunct institution.
Becker attempted to distract attention away from management failure during his Tuesday testimony before the Senate Banking Committee by attributing the bank’s collapse in March to unusual circumstances, interest rate increases, and unfavorable social media publicity. He frequently rejected to promise any financial reparation, even though he indicated a willingness to work with regulators on examining remuneration.
Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, questioned Becker, who said, “I promise to cooperate with the regulators as they do a review,” but made no guarantee to return any of his considerable gains.
Republicans and Democrats have voiced outrage over Becker’s move to sell $3.6 million worth of company stock through a trading plan just before the bank announced large losses.
Becker defended the validity of the stock transactions at the court on Tuesday, pointing out that the bank’s legal counsel had given them the go-ahead. Additionally, he justified his own pay, saying that the bonuses certain staff got for their performance in 2022 before the bank’s takeover were legitimate and not rushed.
While being questioned, Scott Shay, the former chairman of Signature Bank, opted not to commit to repaying any of his income.
The bank failures cost the government’s deposit insurance fund billions of dollars, forcing it to be replenished by other financial institutions, lawmakers said.
In reference to the federal government’s food assistance program, Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman remarked, “The Republicans want to give a work requirement for SNAP for a hungry family.” He questioned the need for a functional requirement after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) sold SVB, saying, “Shouldn’t you have one after we sell your bank?”
In a highly awaited study on the fall of Silicon Valley Bank released on Friday, the US Federal Reserve advocated for more financial monitoring while also acknowledging its own shortcomings.
Between 2011 and 2023, Gregory W. Becker, an American business professional, led SVB Financial Group as its CEO. Before Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in 2023, he was also the organization’s last CEO and a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
On the same day that Tim Mayopoulous, the new CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, attempted to reassure clients, Greg Becker departed California. The person who oversaw Silicon Valley Bank’s demise doesn’t appear to have stayed to observe the final results; instead, he is on his way to his $3.1 million Hawaiian hideaway.
