Warren Calls for Independent Investigation Into Bowman’s Hire of Conflicted Firm to Conduct Wasteful Fourth Review of Silicon Valley Bank’s Failure

Warren Calls for Independent Investigation Into Bowman's Hire of Conflicted Firm to Conduct Wasteful Fourth Review of Silicon Valley Bank's Failure

"I request that the Fed OIG open an investigation of Vice Chair Bowman's decision to hire STS to conduct a fourth review of SVB's failure to determine whether any statutes, regulations, policies, or procedures were violated in the procurement process, and whether the review constitutes government waste."

"To make matters worse, STS has reportedly asked for two extensions and is attempting to renegotiate the contract to gain more favorable terms."

Text of Letter to Fed IG (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Michael Horowitz, the Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, requesting an investigation into Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman's decision to hire an external consulting firm connected to President Trump's first Vice Chair for Supervision, Starling Trust Sciences (STS), to conduct another review of the 2023 failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

In the letter, Ranking Member Warren began by raising concerns that a new review into SVB's failure "may constitute government 'waste,' as defined by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and various Inspectors General." "If a public official is expending resources to commission a fourth SVB review simply because her policy actions were implicated by previous reviews, it could reasonably be construed as an expenditure without 'purpose' and an 'abuse of resources,' satisfying the definition of government waste," wrote Ranking Member Warren.

Warren took note of STS's reportedly asking for two extensions and attempting to renegotiate the contract to gain more favorable terms. "While potentially wasteful from the outset, the review is reportedly further devolving as it progresses - increasing the likelihood of wasted taxpayer dollars.," the Ranking Member continued.

The Ranking Member also outlined the appearance of a conflict of interest in Bowman's hiring of STS to conduct the additional review. The firm appears to be connected to Vice Chair Bowman's former colleague, Randal Quarles, who served as President Trump's first Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision and spearheaded the deregulatory measures that led to SVB's collapse. Specifically, Mr. Quarles served as the "chair" of STS's recent report on bank supervision and is prominently featured in the materials promoting the report.

The Ranking Member continued: "In other words: a firm associated with Mr. Quarles, a former colleague of Vice Chair Bowman whose deregulatory actions and supervisory reforms were directly implicated by at least two of the formal SVB government reviews, has been picked by Vice Chair Bowman to lead a fourth review of SVB's failure."

Warren requested that the Fed OIG open an investigation of Vice Chair Bowman's decision to hire STS to conduct a fourth review of SVB's failure to determine whether any statutes, regulations, policies, or procedures were violated in the procurement process, and whether the review constitutes government waste. In addition, she asked the Fed OIG to provide recommendations to the Fed on its procurement process to improve transparency, mitigate conflicts of interest, and reduce waste in the future.

On June 3, 2026, Ranking Member Warren sent a letter to Bowman requesting that the conflicted review be immediately terminated, and that additional information regarding any entanglements between Mr. Quarles and STS be shared.

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