A ray of sunlight from SVB Financial Group

At Clean Yield, we believe that sunlight is the best disinfectant. The latest ray of light comes courtesy of SVB Financial Group, a diversified financial services company based in Silicon Valley. Late last year, Clean Yield asked SVB to shed some light on its political involvement. Political transparency increases accountability to shareholders and is essential to rooting out the impacts of dark money in politics. In a regulatory environment where corporations can (and do) have outsized impact on the political system, we think this type of transparency is key to protecting the health of our democracy.
In response to Clean Yield’s proposal, SVB made big improvements in the disclosure of its political involvement and has committed to board-level oversight of political activities going forward. In recognition of this progress, Clean Yield has withdrawn its proposal. While there are still ways for SVB to continue evolving its practices, specifically with regard to full disclosure of trade association involvement, we believe that its recent commitments represent a meaningful step toward political transparency. Well done, SVB.