SVB Financial Trust v. FDIC-R Silicon Valley Bank Verdict

In a trial arising out of the Silicon Valley Bank failure before Judge Beth Labson Freeman, SVB Financial Trust was denied its claim for monies held on deposit at bank close.  In denying the Trust’s claim for $1.7 billion, Judge Freeman found that the $5.4 billion of damages arising from SVB’s negligent security investments, hedging transactions, and a fraudulent transfer were established by Ken Malek with reasonable certainty.  In her reasoning, Judge Freeman quoted Mr. Malek stating, “They were highly worried about adverse market reaction[,] so they were hoping to wait and see and hope things would work out. Hope doesn’t count when you are working with a restructured company that’s working on borrowed time.”