REVEALED: Only ONE member of failed SVB's board had a career in investment banking - and the rest were Obama, Clinton mega-donors who 'grieved' when Trump won including one who went to Shinto shrine 'to pray'
- Tom King, 63, was the only member of the Silicon Valley Bank board who had experience in investment banking
- The others were major Obama and Clinton mega-donors, including one who cried when Trump won in 2016
- The board is now being investigated for its failure to act ahead of the bank's collapse, as some argue it was too focused on being woke
By MELISSA KOENIG FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:
Just one member of Silicon Valley Bank's board of directors had a career in investment banking, while the others were major Democratic donors, it has been revealed.
Tom King, 63, was appointed to the board in September after previously serving as the CEO of investment banking at Barclay's. He has had 35 years of experience in investment banking.
But he is the only one on the board with a career in the financial industry, while others are a former Obama administration employee, a prolific contributor to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and even a Hillary Clinton mega-donor who prayed at a Shinto shrine when Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election.
The board is now being investigated by federal authorities after it failed to prevent the bank from going under while it was investing clients' money in risky low-interest government bonds and securities.
It has previously been accused of being too focused on woke issues.
Tom King, 63, was the only member of Silicon Valley Bank's board that had experience in investment banking
The failed bank's board is now being investigated by federal authorities after it failed to prevent the bank from going under while it was investing clients' money in risky low-interest government bonds and securities
When the bank fell on Friday, it touted that its board included '1 black,' '1 LGBTQ+' member and '2 veterans.' It also noted that its board is 45 percent women.
But only one board member is under the age of 60 — while the oldest is 78.
And only King has experience in the financial investments industry.
The others were major donors to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Clinton, Obama and President Joe Biden who also made contributions to the political action campaigns for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a longtime member of the powerful Senate Banking Committee.
Among those members were Phil Cox, who sits on the governing board for NextGen Cyber Talent, a nonprofit that 'provides a platform to increase diversity and inclusion in [the] cybersecurity sector,' according to his online profile.
And Kate Mitchell, who cofounded the National Venture Capitalist Association initiative, Venture Forward which 'focuses on advancing opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities in [the] venture ecosystem.'
Mary J Miller, a former under secretary of Domestic Finance for the US Department of Treasury who ran in the 2020 Baltimore mayoral race as a Democrat, also served on the board.
Venture capitalist Kate Mitchell cried at Shinto shrine when she learned Donald Trump won in 2016
Kate Mitchell, 64, has served on the Silicon Valley Bank board since 2010.
During that time, she donated a whopping $50,000 to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run, and cried when Trump eventually won.
She told CNBC at the time that she went to a Shinto shrine while on a trip to Kyoto that Thanksgiving to pray.
Kate Mitchell, 64, has served on the Silicon Valley Bank board since 2010
'I prayed for me and us to get beyond our grieving and shock, and to figure out how to engage and listen to what happened and come back together,' Mitchell said.
She had earlier celebrated how 97 percent of the tech industry's donations were going to Clinton's campaign, suggesting she would be 'friendlier' to their businesses.
'Ninety-seven percent support of Clinton is mind-blowing and really suggests that we're pounding the table.'
But she was less enthusiastic about Democrat candidates in 2020, only donating $593.33 each to the Democratic parties in Minnesota, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
Mitchell publicly said she prayed at a Shinto shrine in Kyoto after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election.
Professionally, Mitchell cofounded the National Venture Capitalist Association initiative, Venture Forward which 'focuses on advancing opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities in [the] venture ecosystem.'
She takes credit for co-authoring legislation on individual private offerings that made it easier for startups to get publicly traded, and was awarded in 2021 with the National Venture Capitalist Association American Spirit Award, for her 'service to community centered around equity and diversity.'
Mitchell also advises the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University.
Rite Aid CEO who credits success with being in an improv troupe
Elizabeth 'Busy' Burr, 61, credits her success with being in an improv troupe
Elizabeth 'Busy' Burr, 61, credits her success with being in an improv troupe.
She told Authority Magazine in a sit-down interview in February 2021: 'I've learned a lot from doing improv, and it's influenced how I think about leadership.'
Burr also detailed in that interview how she saw her role as a director as being about getting companies to diversify.
'We all need to start with being conscious. Recognizing that if we aren’t solving the problem, we are part of it. And that there is in fact a problem. A big one.
'People of color in this country face a far more difficult journey to achieve their dreams than I do, and the barriers they have to deal with are systemic and often unconscious,' she said, adding: 'We’ve just had 4 years of a President who unleashed a tide of racism and white supremacy.
'The bizarre upside of that is that there are many more important conversations taking place, but we have a long way to go.'
'It's not enough to just report the numbers, instead, we need to demand a deep look at company culture — what are the informal networks and behaviors that support the status quo. Discuss this at the board level and hold management teams accountable for real change.'
The interview came just nine months before she was appointed to the board of Silicon Valley Bank. A press release at the time noted she held positions at Citigroup and dealt with investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Boston.
Burr was also named the interim CEO of Rite Aid in January.
Winemaker with estate near Nancy Pelosi who is a prolific Democratic donor
Garen K. Staglin, 78, made a name for himself with his eponymously named Staglin Family Vineyard in Napa Valley.
He and his wife, Shari, bought the 61-acre property in Rutherford, California in 1985. It is located less than 15 minutes from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's estate.
Garen K. Staglin, 78, made a name for himself with his eponymously named Staglin Family Vineyard in Napa Valley
Staglin has donated to his neighbor, public documents show, but has donated even more to Democrats in national races.
In 2020, he gave the Biden Victory Fund $10,000, and in 2016, he donated $54,000 to Clinton's Hillary Fund —on top of the $25,000 he donated the year before.
He also backed former President Barack Obama in 2011, with a $35,800 donation, and gave the Democratic National Committee $11,000 last year.
Staglin was appointed to Silicon Valley Bank's board in 2012.
At the time, CEO Greg Becker touted Staglin as a 'tremendous asset to our board.
'His experience and passions for winemaking, technology, investing and philanthropy, align perfectly with our strategy,' Becker said in a statement.
'His perspectives and contributions are a welcome addition to our dynamic and engaged board as we continue to pursue a global growth strategy and dedicate ourselves to the technology, venture capital, and premium wine industries.'
Staglin has donated thousands of dollars to Democratic presidential candidates. He is pictured here in 2017
Former Obama administration official who got caught up in a race scandal as she ran for Baltimore mayor
Mary J. Miller, 67, served as Obama's under secretary for domestic finance at the Treasury Department from March 2012 through September 2014.
Mary J. Miller, 67, served as Obama's under secretary for domestic finance at the Treasury Department from March 2012 through September 2014
In that position, she helped implement the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation that set regulations on banks like SVB, which it is now being accused of skirting.
She joined the Silicon Valley Bank board in 2015, and in 2020, she ran for mayor of Baltimore, but finished third in a Democratic primary after a political action committee was accused of racism.
The Citizens for Ethical Progressive Leadership (a PAC organization that the Miller Campaign stated they never coordinated with) had sent an email to potential donors, saying Miller's campaign strategy was to target white voters — which would leave the two African American candidates to split up the Maryland city's majority black vote and clear her path to victory.
Miller would later insist that the PAC had nothing to do with her, saying in a statement to FOX 5 Baltimore: 'This is not who I am.
'There are not my values, or the values of those who work with me,' she said at the time. 'From day one, our campaign has been about every Baltimorean — black, white, Latino and Asian.
'We are committed to inclusion, dismantling structural racism and creating opportunity for everyone across our city,' Miller noted.
'Every day, we reach out to all voters and we are so grateful to the broad coalition that has been moved by our message.'
Still, her efforts failed, and she won just 15.6 percent of the vote.
She helped implement the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation that set regulations on banks like SVB, which it is now being accused of skirting
Tom King joins the board in September 2022
The bank finally named a qualified board member in September 2022, with the appointment of Tom King.
Kay Matthews, the chair of the board of directors, said at the time: 'Tom’s proven leadership within complex global financial services firms makes him well suited to join SVB’s board as the company continues to grow.
'Tom’s expansive knowledge of the financial services industry will contribute to SVB’s ability to execute its strategy and deliver long-term value for stakeholders,' she promised.
Meanwhile, Becker said in a statement that King has 'leveraged his global banking and corporate finance expertise, regulatory knowledge and keen relationship-building talents to build and transform businesses.
'His strategic thinking and values-led leadership will be an asset to our company and our clients.'
The company also announced at the time it had $214billion in assets and more than 7,700 employees globally.
It now remains unclear why the board failed to act as SVB was making risky investments.
Executives at the company began depositing much of its excess funds accrued during the COVID pandemic in higher-yielding, long term bonds, along with $80billion in 10-year mortgage-backed securities that pay out 1.5percent rather than the short-term Treasury Department securities that pay out only 0.25percent beginning in 2021.
That left the bank with a deposit base heavily skewed toward technology firms with huge accounts, over the $250,000 insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
By the end of 2022, a vast majority of the bank's deposits, $157billion, were held in just over 37,000 accounts that were over the FDIC's deposit-insurance gap.
It then continued business as usual, borrowing short-term from depositors and lending long-term without any interest-rates — even as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that higher interest rates were coming.
As customers started to ask for their money back as the economy revamped, SVB had to sell $21million worth of its underwater long0term assets with an average interest rate around 1.8percent.
That meant that the bank lost $1.8billion on sales, leaving executives frantically trying to raise more than $2billion to fill the hole, which it was unable to do.
