Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Maxine Waters have pledged to donate campaign contributions from Silicon Valley Bank’s PAC and former CEO Greg Becker, putting pressure on other politicians to do the same.
Becker and the SVB PAC have donated money to a host of mostly Democratic candidates over the years, including President Joe Biden in his 2020 presidential bid and Silicon Valley-based Rep. Ro Khanna.
The bank’s political action committee has a broader range of contributions, including giving California Rep. and now House Speaker Kevin McCarthy $5,000 in the 2018 election cycle and $2,986 in the 2014 campaign.
Crisis-stricken SVB, where many startups had their funds, closed on Friday after a bank run. The events led to a bailout over the weekend when the federal government seized control of the assets.
The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a joint statement assuring SVB depositors that they would be able to withdraw their money.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) say they plan to return or donate to charitable funds they received as Silicon Valley political action committee campaign contributions Bank and its former CEO Greg Becker
SVB closed last week and the FDIC and Fed took control of its assets over the weekend. The Biden administration insists the move was not a “bailout,” but some Republicans disagree. PicturedL People line up outside the Santa Clara location for SVB on Monday, March 13
A person familiar with the situation. told CNBC that Schumer plans to send money donated by Becker in June 2021 to New York-based organizations and charities.
DailyMail.com has not heard back from Schumer’s office to confirm the report and share additional information about the charities the leader plans to give contributions to.
According to an Open Secrets review, Becker contributed $5,800 to Schumer for the 2022 midterms, which is the maximum allowed for individual contributions.
The leader’s campaign received $2,700 from the SVB PAC in 2015 for the 2016 election cycle. A Schumer spokesman said his campaign is also giving those funds to charity.
Waters of the Rep. of California told politician on Tuesday that he will “pay back” the $2,500 he received from the bank’s PAC in late 2020 when he chaired the House Financial Services Committee.
Becker, who first joined SVB in 1993 as a banker, contributed $2,800 to Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Beleaguered banks SVB, Signature Bank and Credit Suisse have shelled out a combined $1.2 million to Democratic candidates over the past three election cycles, fundraising data reveals.
Yet during that same period, those three institutions gave only $750,000 to Republicans.
Becker and the SVB PAC have made donations to various candidates over the years, and while most individual contributions went to Democrats, Republicans also received PAC contributions from the bank.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-South Carolina, received SVB PAC contributions in the 2020, 2018 and 2016 election cycles
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also received $5,000 in the 2018 election cycle and $2,986 in the 2014 PAC campaign
The data reveals that the big three banks spent heavily to ensure their preferred candidates took office.
Starting in 2016, the banks donated tens of thousands to various successful Senate campaigns, including Senate Democratic leader Schumer, moderate West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, and Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
Tester was reportedly chatting with a partner from the SVB law firm at a lavish fundraiser in Palo Alto on Monday night, days after the bank collapsed.
Another big beneficiary of the three banks, two of which have collapsed and the third currently on the brink.
While most of Becker’s contributions during his time as SVB CEO went to Democratic individuals and candidates, according to Open Secrets, he also gave $2,500 to the Republican Majority PAC Committee during the 2018 midterm election cycle. .
Contributions also went to Rep. Khanna, whose district includes tech startup haven Silicon Valley.
California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren received $500 from Becker in 2014 and another $1,000 in 2017. In the 2020 election cycle, the SVB PAC contributed $1,000 to Lofgren’s re-election campaign.
Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina received a $2,500 contribution from the SVB PAC in the 2020, 2018 and 2016 cycles. The PAC likely focused on McHenry because of his position on the House Financial Services Committee. He was the panel’s ranking member since 2019 and was promoted to chairman in 2023 when the Republican Party seized control of the House.
Republican Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and French Hill of Arkansas received $1,000 from the PAC in the 2020 cycle.
Silicon Valley-based Rep. Ro Khanna received funding from former CEO
In the 2022 election cycle, it appears the committee only contributed $2,500 total to a single candidate: Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York.
It’s not immediately clear if any politicians, Democrat or Republican, plan to join Schumer and Waters in donating the linked contributions to SVB.
Both McHenry’s and McCarthy’s offices did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com on whether they will follow the lead of Democratic lawmakers or feel returning the funds could help avoid any perception that a bailout was made. due to SVB’s support of key players in California and Washington, DC
Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse on Friday was the biggest bank failure in US history since the 2008 Great Recession and banking crisis.
The events sparked a panic that caused the Signature Bank of New York to close for the weekend as well.
SVB was auctioned by regulators and clients were able to access their funds from Monday.
SVB was taken over by the new Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, which is operated by the FDIC, which transferred all of the failed banking institution’s deposits to the newly formed ‘bridge bank’ over the weekend.
The CEO of the new bank said the institution is “open for business” and on Tuesday urged customers to return.
