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As Probe Begins On SVB Crash, Rep Maxine Waters Makes Plans To Return Bank Donations

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By Oscar Blair - - 5 Mins Read
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Federal Investigators began a probe into the Silicon Valley Bank collapse that happened last week, and here's a recent update on everything that's happened so far.

Rep Maxine Waters Intends To Return $2500 Campaign Donation To Silicon Valley Bank

Rep Maxine Waters received a campaign donation of $2500 from the political action committee of the bank in 2020. According to her, the money was disbursed while she chaired the House Financial Services Committee, and she is set to return the contribution now.

Walter said she remembers speaking with a representative from Silicon Valley in 2020 about FinTech but can't recall the exact details of the conversation that ensued. She also clarified that she held no discussions with the bank on the 2018 bill that later affected its regulations.

“Everybody knows I have an open-door policy, philosophically, I’m opposed to deregulation, always have been, been consistent on it, and will continue to be,” she said.

The 2018 bill was a bipartisan measure that affected the law of many banks like SVB. The popular opinion even claims that lobbyists for the bank might have played a crucial role in legislating the bill, and federal investigators have begun scrutiny of the law that led to the collapse of the largest bank in California.

Findings from the probe also revealed that the bank's political action committee gave over $50,000 as campaign donations to many more senators and representatives who were members of the House Financial Services Committee in the last five years. The probe enlisted Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) as its major beneficiaries and disclosed that they collected individual donations from the bank's CEO, Greg Becker as well.

Over 20 of the political action committee that received the funds are yet to approve requests for comments or further interrogations.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Says He Donated Money Received From The PAC To Charity.

In an interview with a spokesperson for Sen. Schumer, he claims that all of the donations received from the political action committee and the bank's CEO have been donated to charity.

"All contributions have been donated to charity," the spokesperson said.

Gregg Becker donated the highest sum of donation allowed, $5800 to Sen. Schumer in Jun 2021 by a filing from the Federal Election Commission. Schumer received $2700 from the political action committee while Rep Maxine Waters got $2500 for their campaigns.

The federal inquiry made into the bank shows that Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) received some of the largest donations of about $7,500 from the PAC within the period they held key positions in the committee. 

You would recall that regulators had to intervene in the Silicon Valley Bank crash on Friday after it announced that it needed an additional $2.25 billion in equity. The bank went into a bank run after it was forced to sell $21 billion in bonds, despite a previous loss of $1.8 billion.

The Silicone Valley Bank financial crisis is one of the largest failures ever experienced since a similar Washington bank crashed in 2008. Despite it being one of the largest federally insured banks in the country, there seems to be little to zero hope in sight as another withdrawal of $42 billion was made from the bank last Thursday.

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