Justice Department, SEC to probe into collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched investigations into the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The investigations - which are separate inquiries - are in the early stages and will also examine the actions of the bank's senior executives, the person said.

The Justice Department's investigation involves federal prosecutors in California, along with prosecutors involved in fraud cases, the person said.

The person was not authorized to publicly discuss the specific details of the ongoing investigations and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
 

KPMG’s US boss, Paul Knopp, said the accounting firm stood behind its audits of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Knopp said KPMG’s audit work considered all the facts available at the time and that “market-driven events” in the intervening days led to the banks’ failures, the report said.

“It’s important to recognise that audit opinions, which only address the financial statements and internal controls of the business, are based on audit evidence available up to and at the date of the opinion” the firm said.

“Any unanticipated events or actions taken by management after the date of an opinion could not be contemplated as part of the audit,” the company added.

Global markets have been bumpy since the collapse of SVB, the biggest US bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, and Signature Bank.

                                                                                                                                                       - Reuters