Federal Reserve Commissions External Review of Silicon Valley Bank Collapse

California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10, 2023, and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver. The bank had $209 billion in assets and $175.4 billion in deposits at the end of 2022, with more than 90% of deposits uninsured. Bond losses caused by interest-rate increases and a run on deposits exposed failures in the bank’s risk management and Federal Reserve supervision, while triggering turmoil among regional banks.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman announced on March 20, 2026, that Starling Trust Sciences had been commissioned to examine supervisory and management failures before SVB’s collapse. As of June 16, investigators had interviewed several independent SVB directors, but some former Federal Reserve personnel had declined to participate. Despite three government reports and two congressional hearings, questions remain about the independence of the new investigation.