Warren Questions Whether Wall Street Got Special Access To Fed Report On SVB Collapse
By CU Today Staff —
WASHINGTON—Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is demanding answers from Federal Reserve officials over reports that a prominent Wall Street law firm and other private parties received advance copies of an independent investigation into Silicon Valley Bank's 2023 collapse, raising questions about whether confidential supervisory information was improperly disclosed.
Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, sent letters Oct. 9 to Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, Fed supervision director Randall Guynn and Starling Trust Sciences CEO Stephen Scott. The letters followed reporting that law firm Davis Polk was among those given early access to the report.
“This reporting, coupled with your previous participation at a secret dinner hosted by Bank of America for its hedge fund clients, raises serious concerns that you and your staff may have engaged in a pattern of providing Wall Street with special access to non-public information,” Warren wrote to Bowman.
Warren is seeking the identities of those who received advance copies, related emails, who authorized the disclosures and how recipients were selected. She also wants to know whether the Fed's general counsel reviewed the document for confidential supervisory information before its distribution, as required under applicable regulations. The senator set an Oct. 22 deadline for responses.
The controversy centers on a Fed-commissioned review conducted by Starling Advisory Group, whose preliminary findings were announced Sept. 18. The review concluded that Fed supervisors recognized or should have recognized SVB's vulnerabilities well before its collapse but failed to act decisively. It also disputed claims that regulatory changes enacted in 2018 caused supervisory delays.
Originally reported by CU Today.