Signature Bank Financial News

The US crypto industry has a new favorite banking partner, a small Pennsylvania-based called Customers Bank.

Signature Bank became one of several US regional banks to collapse in March following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, leaving the FDIC to auction off $33.2bn of its loans.

The nation’s 23 largest banks passed the Federal Reserve‘s so-called stress tests this year, a sign that the nation’s banking system remains resilient despite the recent banking crisis that led to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank.

Binance said it was halting dollar deposits, while trading platform Robinhood Markets said it was delisting some crypto tokens, after the U.S. securities regulator stepped up its crackdown on the crypto sector. Binance.US, the purportedly independent partner of Binance, said in a tweet on Thursday that its banking partners were preparing to stop dollar withdrawal channels as early as June 13, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a court to freeze its assets. Customers have until Tuesday to withdraw their funds. The development is the latest blow for the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange and raises questions about whether its U.S. operation can survive the SEC lawsuit, which alleges Binance manipulated its trading volumes and comingled customer assets, among other civil charges that it denies. «This is very serious for Binance.US,» said Clara Medalie, director of research at Kaiko, a digital asset data provider.

With traditional banks becoming more cautious about servicing the cryptocurrency industry, smaller regional banks and alternative payment service providers are stepping up to fill the gap. 

An accountant for the US Securities and Exchange Commission says crypto exchange Binance, CEO Changpeng Zhao and related entities moved “large amounts of money” from 2019 up to this year.

Barney Frank, a former member of the United States House of Representatives and board member of Signature Bank, has pointed fingers at certain members of the public in the wake of the bank’s collapse.

A former Signature Bank executive has been slammed for seemingly trying to place the blame for his bank’s collapse on crypto while purportedly being able to pocket millions in bonuses and stock options. 

Sen. Cynthia Lummis said she found it disappointing that a former crypto-friendly Signature Bank executive is not taking the blame for the failed bank, while criticizing his wordiness about crypto. 

Crypto-friendly Signature Bank “significantly’ cut back on digital asset deposits in the wake of increased volatility and regulators' concerns at the end of last year, said the former chairman and co-founder of the now-shuttered bank. 

A California judge has combined three investor lawsuits against defunct crypto bank Silvergate Bank involving the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.

The idea that the closure of Signature Bank was in any way an attempt to target the crypto sector is “ludicrous,” the Superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has said.

Adrienne Harris, superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, or NYDFS, has reportedly said the closure of the crypto-friendly Signature Bank in March had nothing to do with exposure to digital assets.

After a Bloomberg article alleged exposure between stablecoin provider Tether and the now-collapsed Signature Bank, rumors began to circulate regarding the involvement between the two companies. 

Tether, the firm behind the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, reportedly allowed its clients to send funds through Signature Bank’s payments platform — granting the firm access to United States banks.

Martin Gruenberg, chair of the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, has said the FDIC plans to return roughly $4 billion in deposits connected to Signature Bank’s digital asset banking business by early April.

The collapses of banks like Silvergate have certainly impacted cryptocurrency exchanges but there are ways for the industry to survive without the support of banks, one executive believes.

FDIC) has informed collapsed lender Signature Bank's crypto clients that they have until April 5 to close their accounts and move their money. The deposits in question were not part of a rescue deal arranged with Flagstar Bank, a unit of New York Community Bancorp, earlier this month. «Flagstar's bid did not include about $4 billion in deposits related to Signature's digital-asset business,» an FDIC spokesperson said. «Those are the deposits we are encouraging customers to move before April 5. If they have not by that day, we will mail checks to the address on record.»

Signature Bank’s cryptocurrency clients have been reportedly given until April 5 to take their funds out and find another bank, or have their accounts closed by the federal regulator.

The first day of Paris Blockchain Week (PBW) is bringing more thoughts on the ongoing crisis in the global banking system, with industry executives comparing the collapses of major cryptocurrency firms like FTX with the fall of banks like Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

If the United States government really is implementing "Operation Choke Point 2.0" it will hurt financial stability and may have contributed to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) according to Donald Trump’s former Acting White House Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney.