SVB CEO Becker addresses employees with 'heavy heart' in video

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2022 Milken Institute Global Conference
Greg Becker, President and CEO of SVB, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - Greg Becker, the chief executive of SVB Financial Group (SIVB.O) , sent a video message to employees acknowledging the "incredibly difficult" 48 hours leading up to the collapse of its Silicon Valley Bank on Friday.

"It's with an incredibly heavy heart that I'm here to deliver this message," he said in a video seen by Reuters. "I can't imagine what was going through your head and wondering, you know, about your job, your future."

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp was named receiver of Silicon Valley Bank after California banking regulators closed it on Friday.

While the FDIC has taken control of the lender, Becker said he is working with banking regulators to find a partner for the bank, but there is "no guarantee" a deal will be struck.

Becker wore a black zip-up jacket with a logo from Gleneagles, a luxury golf resort in Scotland, and spoke from a room framed by dark cabinets.

He asked employees to "hang around, try to support each other, try to support our clients, work together" to get a better outcome for the company.

"Thank you, and my heart is with you," he said.

Reporting by Lananh Nguyen in New York and Pete Schroeder in Washington; Editing by Megan Davies, Sandra Maler

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

Lananh Nguyen is the U.S. finance editor at Reuters in New York, leading coverage of U.S. banks. She joined Reuters in 2022 after reporting on Wall Street at The New York Times. Lananh spent more than a decade at Bloomberg News in New York and London, where she wrote extensively about banking and financial markets, and she previously worked at Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal. Lananh holds a B.A. in political science from Tufts University and an M.Sc. in finance and economic policy from the University of London.

Thomson Reuters

Covers financial regulation and policy out of the Reuters Washington bureau, with a specific focus on banking regulators. Has covered economic and financial policy in the U.S. capital for 15 years. Previous experience includes roles at The Hill newspaper and The Wall Street Journal. Received a Master's degree in journalism from Georgetown University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.

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