STORY: “Mr. Becker you made a really stupid bet that went bad, didn’t you,” said Kennedy. “And the taxpayers of America had to pick up the tab for your stupidity.”
Becker, who sold SVB shares through the first quarter – the largest sale of which occurred on Feb 27, less than two weeks before the bank collapsed on March 10, triggering a rout in banking shares globally.
Responding to questions from senators, Becker painted a picture of an unprecedented, unpredictable crisis at the bank. He said the bank took risk management seriously and had liquidity of around $80 billion at the end of last year.
