Silicon Valley Bank gave company-wide bonuses hours before it collapsed: report

Silicon Valley Bank employees received their annual bonuses on Friday just hours before the government took control of the company, according to reports.

SVB traditionally processes annual bonuses on the second Friday of March, unnamed sources associated with the bank told CNBC. The bonuses were reportedly for work completed in 2022.

SVB did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The Santa Clara, California-based band collapsed last week and is now under the control of federal regulators. SVB had been the 16th-largest bank in the U.S. prior to the bank run that led to its downfall.

SILICON VALLEY BANK CUSTOMERS LINE UP OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA LOCATION AMID FRANTIC RUSH TO WITHDRAW MONEY

The bank held a reputation as a go-to for a number of Silicon Valley industries and startups. Y Combinator, an incubator startup that launched Airbnb, DoorDash and DropBox, regularly referred entrepreneurs to them.

SILICON VALLEY BANK COLLAPSE HITS COMPANIES SUCH AS CAMP, COMPASS COFFEE

SVB’s collapse was so quick that, hours before its closure, some industry analysts were hopeful that the bank was still a good investment. The bank’s shares had fallen by 60% on Friday morning after a similar drop the day before. 

Anxious depositors rushed to withdraw their money over concern for the bank’s health, causing its collapse, which may serve as “an extinction-level event for startups,” according to Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan.

Entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban called for federal regulators to buy out the bank earlier on Friday.

“The Fed should IMMEDIATELY buy all the securities/debt the bank owns at near par, which should be enough to cover most deposits,” Cuban wrote as part of a lengthy Twitter chain last week. “Any losses paid for in equity and new debt from the new bank or whoever buys it. The Fed knew this was a risk. They should own it.” 

“If the Fed doesn’t own it, trust in the banking system becomes an issue,” Cuban argued. “There are a ton of banks with more than 50 pct uninsured deposits.”

Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.