Before the SVB Ship Sank, Guess Who Got Off? By Charles Taylor (Florida)
Here is a warm human-interest story from the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Greg Becker, sold $3.6 million in shares of the financial institution’s parent company several weeks before its collapse. Now, the timing here is perfect, too perfect, so it stands to reason that he could feel what way the foul wind was blowing. And, this all fits a time proven pattern; that prior to some large company going under, those in the know jump ship.
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“Documents show that the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) sold $3.6 million in shares of the failed financial institution’s parent company several weeks before its collapse—the biggest U.S. bank failure since 2008 that sent a shudder of anxiety across markets.
A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that Greg Becker, who joined SVB as a loan officer three decades ago before becoming CEO about a decade later, sold 12,451 shares of the bank’s parent company SVB Financial Group on Feb. 27.
Becker sold the shares in accordance with a trading plan filed on Jan. 26, a little over a month before the group sent a letter to stakeholders (pdf) saying it was looking to raise over $2 billion in capital after taking losses.
The announcement sent SVB stock plunging and prompted its lightning-fast unwind. The bank’s shares fell more than 60 percent after the announcement, wiping out $9.4 billion in market value and sparking fears of contagion.
“Lots of chatter today about the possibility of generalized U.S. banking system stress due to SVB troubles. Three summary things on this: While the U.S. banking system as a whole is solid, and it is, that does not mean that every bank is,” stated economist Mohamed A. El-Erian in a tweet.”
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