KPMG ignored several flaws at Silicon Valley Bank and two other banks before their collapse in 2023, signs of shortcomings in their auditing oversight, according to a report from Senate Democrats.

The Big Four accounting firm had yearslong awareness of problems at SVB, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank before they failed, but it provided clean audit reports for the regional banks, Democrats on a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee said Wednesday. The banks were unprepared for higher interest rates, which weakened the value of their securities and loans and led depositors to seek higher rates.