Failed bank executives, regulators to testify before Senate panel

By Pete Schroeder

(Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Banking Committee said on Tuesday it would hear from former top officials at the failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank (OTC:), as well as top U.S. banking regulators at separate hearings later this month.

Gregory Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, and Scott Shay and Eric Howell, former senior executives for Signature Bank, will appear on May 16. The hearing will mark the first time the former executives have spoken publicly since the March collapse of both firms, which helped set off broader turmoil in the banking sector. On Monday, regulators closed a third firm, First Republic, which then was sold to JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:).

In a separate hearing May 18, top regulators will testify, including Michael Barr, Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve, and the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Martin Gruenberg, the committee said in a statement. The panel will also hear from top regulators for the states of New York and California, which helped oversee the two failed firms.