U.S. Senator Jon Tester released the following statement after the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Government Accountability Office (GAO), and New York State Department of Financial Services released reports on the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank:

    “Take it from this dirt farmer – you don’t have to be a banker to figure out that irresponsible bank executives paired with ineffective federal oversight are to blame for the collapse of these banks. Congress must hold bank executives accountable for their poor management and risky bets, along with federal regulators who failed to drop the hammer. I’ll continue to press for an independent investigation from an outside body in order to get answers for the American people on why regulators were asleep at the wheel and to make sure bank executives are held accountable.”

Tester has led the charge to ensure bank executives and federal regulators are held accountable for the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

In March, Tester led a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) calling for an investigation into Bank executives’ stock sales ahead of the collapse. Tester also sent a letter to FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell urging federal financial regulators to hold Silicon Valley Bank executives accountable and use every tool at their disposal to claw back reported bonuses received by the Bank’s leadership.

Tester pressed officials on their failure to “drop the hammer” on bank management during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.