The co-founder of hardware chain Home Depot, Bernie Marcus, the US equivalent of Bunnings, has claimed “woke” policies launched by executives of the failed Silicon Valley Bank could have led to SVB’s dramatic failure.

He claims executives at the US bank were more interested in “woke culture” and LGBTQ+ programs than creating value for customers and shareholders.

Silicon Valley Bank’s clients included brands such as Shopify, whose software is used by several leading Australian retailers including Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and Bing Lee. Even Netflix use the Shopify platform. According to Bloomberg, the Canadian business has millions invested in the bank.

Marcus claims the head of risk management at SVB spent considerable time spearheading multiple “woke” LGBTQ+ programs, including a “safe space” for coming out stories, as the firm catapulted toward collapse.

“These banks are badly run because everybody is focused on diversity and all of the woke issues and not concentrating on the one thing they should, which is, shareholder returns,” Marcus said.

Bernie Marcus Co Founder Home Depot

“Instead of protecting the shareholders and their employees, they are more concerned about the social policies. And I think it’s probably a badly run bank.

“They’ve been there for a lot of years. It’s pathetic that so many people lost money that won’t get it back.

“I feel bad for all of these people that lost all their money in this woke bank. You know, it was more distressing to hear that the bank officials sold off their stock before this happened. It’s depressing to me,” he told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto.

“Who knows whether the Justice Department would go after them? They’re a woke company, so I guess not. And they’ll probably get away with it.”

The businessman blamed the Biden administration for pushing companies and banks to consider global warming over shareholder returns, resulting in catastrophic economic pitfalls.

Shortly before the collapse, Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker offloaded more than $5.3 million worth of stocks — which amounted to nearly 12,500 shares — in a pre-planned, automated sell-off on February 27, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing, reported the New York Post.

That same day, the bank’s third-in-command CFO Daniel Beck sold $874,000 in stocks, Newsweek reported.

According to the New York Post Jay Ersapah, the boss of Financial Risk Management at SVB’s UK branch, launched initiatives such as the Company’s first month-long Pride campaign and a new blog emphasising mental health awareness for LGBTQ+ youth.

“The phrase ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ resonates with me,’” Ersapah was quoted as saying on the company website.

“As a queer person of color and a first-generation immigrant from a working-class background, there were not many role models for me to ‘see’ growing up.”

Her efforts as the Company’s European LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group co-chair earned her a spot on SVB’s “outstanding LGBT+ Role Model Lists 2022,” a list shared in a Company post just four months before the bank was shut down by federal authorities over liquidity fears.

It was the 18th largest bank in the US with a market capitalisation of around $40 billion, making it only around a fifth smaller than Australia’s ANZ Bank. It had total assets of more than $300bn.

In addition to instituting SVB’s first “safe space catch-up”, which encouraged employees to share their coming out stories, and serving on LGBTQ+ panels around the world, Ersapah also spent time over the last year serving as a director for Diversity Role Models and volunteering as a mentor for Migrant Leaders.

“I feel privileged to co-chair the LGBTQ+ ERG and help spread awareness of lived queer experiences, partner with charitable organizations, and above all, create a sense of community for our LGBTQ+ employees and allies.”

Ersapah couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

SVB was abruptly shut down Friday by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation shortly after it disclosed it had taken a $1.8 billion hit from a $21 billion fire sale of its bond holdings.

It faced a cash crunch due to surging interest rates, and a recent meltdown in the tech sector led many customers to pare their deposits.

The impact of SVB’s collapse is not entirely clear, but experts theorise it could impact the future of regional and mid-sized banks across the county.

Founders are warning the bank’s failure could wipe out startups around the world without government intervention.

“This crisis will start on Monday and so we call on you to prevent it now,” UK startup founders and chief executive officers said in the letter to investors.

Observers claim Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse will lead to a seismic ripple effects for all the other companies that e-commerce startups rely on, from banks to alternative lenders to technology vendors.