Crypto Bank Silvergate Suspends Dividend on Preferred Stock

Crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital (SI) suspended dividend payments on its preferred stock as it seeks to preserve capital.

The suspension affects its 5.375% Fixed Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A, Silvergate said Friday. In response, its preferred stock (SI.PRA) is down over 26% on the day at $8.43. Meanwhile, common shares of the La Jolla, California-based bank are down around 6% at $13.26.

The bank said the decision reflects its "focus on maintaining a highly liquid balance sheet with a strong capital position as it navigates recent volatility in the digital asset industry."

Silvergate posted a grim set of results earlier this month, revealing that it suffered a loss of $1 billion in the fourth-quarter, culminating in a $949 million full-year loss.

Suffering contagion from the collapse of several crypto firms last year, which came to a head with the demise of crypto exchange FTX in November, Silverbank's stock lost around 90% of its value in 2022. This has continued in the early part of 2023, with the shares down a further 18% in January.

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UPDATE (Jan. 27, 15:33 UTC): Adds updated share price for common and preferred stocks.