Charles Krupa/Associated Press
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling for execs to face legal and financial consequences.
- Silicon Valley and Signature banks were shut down this week by regulators.
- Their chief executives made millions, but "we should claw all that back," Warren argued in an op-ed.
Following the closure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank this week by regulators aiming to prevent financial collapse, Senator Elizabeth Warren is arguing executives should face legal and monetary consequences for their role in the looming banking crisis.
The banks, Warren argued in an op-ed for The New York Times, "suffered from a toxic mix of risky management and weak supervision," allowing executives to take advantage of Trump-era rollbacks in banking regulations to the detriment of depositors who trusted the institution's stability.
Greg Becker, the chief executive of SVB, "took home $9.9 million in compensation last year, including a $1.5 million bonus for boosting bank profitability — and its riskiness. Joseph DePaolo of Signature got $8.6 million," Warren writes, taking aim at the executives of the collapsed banks. "We should claw all of that back, along with bonuses for other executives at these banks."
She added: "Where needed, Congress should empower regulators to recover pay and bonuses. Prosecutors and regulators should investigate whether any executives engaged in insider trading or broke other civil or criminal laws."
Representatives for Warren did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Executives from companies from Goldman Sachs to Apple, have taken pay cuts amid the current economic slowdown. CEO pay had surged in recent years, contributing to a widening economic gap. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has become the country's largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.