Finance

Investors Seek Billions From SVB’s Husk. Why Regulators Refuse to Pay

  • SVB’s parent company had $2 billion deposited at failed lender
  • Court fight aiming to make FDIC pay now focuses on its records

If the FDIC is forced to fork out the $2 billion, some of the Silicon Valley Bank parent’s creditors stand to make a bundle. 

Photographer: Noah Berger/AFP/Getty Images
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The dust had barely settled after Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse last year when savvy investors began lining up for a big payout, based on a hastily written government press release.

Now, in the ensuing legal fight, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is nearing a high-stakes court ruling that could force the regulator to describe how it crafted an announcement that left it exposed to paying $2 billion from its main insurance fund. The money would go to the failed bank’s bankrupt parent and onward to creditors, at the expense of other big US banks.