WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and 10 of her republican colleagues on the Senate Banking Committee wrote to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco requesting records and asking questions about how regulators failed to conduct proper oversight of Silicon Valley Bank. The letter is the latest step Senator Lummis has taken to expose the series of failures that led to the second largest bank collapse in American history and get answers for the people of Wyoming.
“In sum, a number of warning signs existed at SVB in the months and years leading up to its closure, and per reports, these ‘risky practices were on the Federal Reserve’s radar for more than a year—an awareness that proved insufficient to stop the bank’s demise.’ Rather than effectively directing SVB management to take definitive, corrective action, it is apparent that the Federal Reserve supervisors and examiners neglected to intervene in a meaningful, appropriate way to rectify the bank’s deficiencies, ensure safe and sound operations, and prevent its ultimate failure,” the Senators wrote.
“The American people deserve transparency and accountability from their government officials, and they are entitled to understand precisely what Federal Reserve officials knew about the apparent risks associated with SVB, when they knew it, and why they failed to act to prevent the bank failure from occurring,” the Banking Committee Republicans continued.
The letter was signed by Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.). The Senators requested a response no later than April 6, 2023.
Read the full letter here.
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