Silvergate CEO to Depart Amid Liquidation Procedure
- The CEO of crypto-friendly bank, Silvergate will be departing from the firm along with two other executives.
- Chief legal officer John Bonino left on Aug. 15, and chief financial officer Antonio Martino will leave on Sept. 30.
- The three executives are not entitled to any compensation post departure but will be provided with severance.
- The bank had been operating since 1988 and started providing its services to crypto in 2016.
Alan Lane, the CEO of a prominent crypto-friendly banking institution based in San Diego, Silvergate, has announced his departure from the firm amid the ongoing liquidation process at the firm. Along with the former CEO, two more key executives are expected to leave as the banking firm continues to wind down operations that cater to fintech and blockchain businesses.
According to a filing submitted with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 15, the chief legal officer at Silvergate, John Bonino, departed the firm the very same day of the filing. Moreover, Antonio Martino, chief financial officer of the company, will be departing from his role on September 30.
In the filing, the troubled banking firm said that letting go of the three executives was planned previously when Silvergate announced that it would voluntarily shut down operations and liquidate Silvergate Bank. It is crucial to note that the bank has been operating since 1988 and started providing its services to the digital asset sector in 2016.
The filing also confirmed that three executives are not entitled to any compensation after their departure, but they will be provided with severance as a part of their employment agreement with Silvergate Bank. Interestingly, the confirmation of the departures comes at a time when the banking firm is facing a number of lawsuits.
Silvergate and it’s now former CEO have been named in separate lawsuits for their involvement in the bankruptcy of the multi-billion dollar crypto exchange FTX under the leadership of Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF in the industry.
Additionally, the banking firm was also sued by Texas-based Word of God Church, alleging that Silvergate used $25 million of church deposits to participate in FTX’s “fraudulent” scheme” while adding that the firm and its now former CEO had “unparalleled knowledge of the rampant fraud and corporate malfeasance.”
Another lawsuit claimed that the firm did not practice due diligence on the firms that it accepted as its clients, for example, FTX, Alameda Research, and North Dimension.
As reported earlier by Bitnation, FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg stated that the crypto-friendly bank suffered due to its exposure to cryptocurrencies.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
