Silicon Valley Bank offered nearly $73 million to Black Lives Matter-related social justice organizations in the years preceding its failure, while Signature Bank gave $850,000.
A database maintained by the conservative Claremont Institute reveals that SVB contributed over $73,450,000 to the movement and other social justice organizations in an effort to improve its Environmental, Social, and Governance grade.
In the meantime, New York-based Signature Bank gave a total of $850,000 over the course of several years prior to its failure on Sunday.
It is unknown how the banks’ donations were spent; however, the Claremont Institute asserts that Global Network, a BLM private organization, uses its funds to fund Black Lives Matter demonstrations and contributed to the organization’s political action committee aimed at electing progressive leaders.
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Revelation of the bank
The revelation comes at a time when banks are being mocked for being too aware and not paying enough attention to warning flags within their organizations.
Still, others have blamed the company’s commitment to Democratic causes such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as the cause; in a particularly fiery opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Andy Kessler suggested that the company’s pride in the composition of its board SVB notes that in addition to 91% of their board being independent and 45% women, they also have 1 Black, 1 LGBTQ+, and 2 Veterans may have been the true cause.
Kessler’s article received a substantial amount of internet pushback, but there is new evidence supporting the ‘Go Woke,’ Go Broke theory of SVB’s demise, or at least that the bank’s attention on racial issues revealed something significant about its commercial ability or lack thereof.
According to a database compiled by the Claremont Institute, SVB has donated or pledged to donate about $74 million to organizations linked with the Black Lives Matter movement.
SVB was one of several prominent firms that used the murder of George Floyd to gain public favor by feigning concern for the situation of African Americans.
As with many other corporations, SVB indicated their goodness by announcing they will donate vast sums of money to groups aimed at assisting the Black community.
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