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Fed inspector blames crypto focus, nepotism for Silvergate Bank collapse
An investigation into Silvergate Bank found that its collapse was brought about by a dependency on crypto deposits and “ineffective” senior management.
Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank ultimately collapsed this year due to over-dependence on risky crypto deposits and nepotism that led to ineffective management, according to United States Federal Reserve inspectors.
In a Sept. 27 executive summary of its review into the bank’s collapse, the Fed Board’s Office of Inspector General pointed the finger at Silvergate’s change in strategy to focus on “customers engaged in crypto activities” in 2013.
“Silvergate’s concentration in crypto industry deposit customers, rapid growth, and multilayered funding risks led to the bank’s voluntary liquidation.”
Evolving from a little-known institution in the early 2010s, Silvergate expanded rapidly to become the premier bank for crypto clients, growing from $1 billion in deposits in 2017 to $16 billion by 2021.
During this period of rapid growth, the Fed said the bank grew to become essentially a single-industry lender, with the vast majority of its customer deposits being uninsured and non-interest bearing.
If the institution had properly followed existing banking regulations, it should have filed a new application with the Fed, but government supervisors failed to pressure it to establish new risk protection measures.
While some government supervisors had voiced their concerns with the bank’s activities, the Fed said these should have been escalated through “stronger, earlier, and more decisive supervisory action.”
Silvergate’s over-reliance on crypto became evident following the collapse of the now-defunct FTX crypto exchange in November 2022, with tens of billions of dollars in capital fleeing the sector in the following months.
Silvergate’s purported wrong-doings weren’t just limited to crypto. Investigators also claimed that nepotism plagued the banks’ senior management, leading to an incompetent and ineffective corporate structure that failed to address the many risks present at the time.
“Further, nepotism, evidenced in the several familial relationships among members of the bank’s senior leadership team, undermined the effectiveness of the bank’s risk management function.”
“Silvergate’s board of directors and senior management were ineffective, and the bank’s corporate governance and risk management capabilities did not keep pace with the bank’s rapid growth, increasing complexity and evolving risk profile,” concluded the report.
The bank voluntarily wound down in March 2023, meaning it didn’t technically fail. This meant that the government did not have to step in and force it to pay back depositors.
加密幣災｜FTX破產餘波未完 加密銀行Silvergate結束營運並清算銀行業務 盤後再挫逾44%
2023年3月9日
加密貨幣交易所FTX自去年底清盤後，其餘波繼續擴散中。FTX是主要客戶、加密貨幣銀行Silvergate Capital（美：SI）於周三（8日）宣布結束營運，並清算銀行業務。Silvergate有資產約110億美元。Silvergate股價在盤後大挫近44%，報2.76美元。
結束營運並清算銀行業務
Silvergate在聲明中表示，鑑於最近的行業和監管發展，有序結束銀行業務和自願清算是最好的道路。公司稱所有存款都將全額償還，但沒有交代如何處理索賠的問題。
Silvergate在上周四已警告資本不足，暗示或營運有困難，並同時推遲發布年度財政報告，當日股價大挫逾45%。Silvergate近一年的股價累挫逾95%，以昨日周三的收市價4.91美計算，市值僅餘1.55億美元。
受FTX影響 客戶存款大跌68%
Silvergate為加密貨幣交易所、機構投資者和礦商提供金融基礎設施解決方案和服務，包括提供即時支付系統Silvergate Exchange Network，以及向加密貨幣產業的多個機構提供穩定幣基礎設施平台、數位資產託管管理和抵押貸款服務。
受加密圈寒冬及FTX破產的影響下，Silvergate在去年第四季度虧損10億美元，且客戶存款已從119億美元下降至38億美元，大跌68%。Silvergate已經苦苦掙扎了幾個月，除了在1月份裁員40%外，為了彌補資金缺口，Silvergate不得不出售52億美元的債務證券，又向聯邦住房貸款銀行申請43億美元貸款。
業務被踢爆不可持續
但上周《華盛頓郵報》就踢爆，Silvergate的存款並不是正常意義上的存款，更像是速匯金（MoneyGram）或西聯匯款（Western Union）等匯款公司持有的浮動現金，而Silvergate吸引現金的唯一原因是結算進出一組特定資產的交易，但Silvergate的存款移動速度可能比這種現金浮動速度慢的多，只要市場對加密貨幣興趣下降，存款人就會開始消失。
然而，Silvergate冒了更大的風險，該銀行將大部分新資金投資於長期證券，在去年第三季度末其存款開始迅速縮水之前，僅有11%的流動性資產是儲存在美國聯邦儲備銀行和其他銀行的現金，其餘部分是證券。而這些證券中僅有11%是美國國債，其餘大部分是具有10年以上合約到期期限的抵押貸款債券，因此在其開始拋售這些證券以滿足提款需求之前，其債券持倉已經遭受了10億美元的公允價值損失。
最後，在大量客戶的擠提下，Silvergate就面對資金壓力。較早前，亦有報導指Silvergate正被美國司法部詐欺部門刑事調查。
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