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Moonstone Bank Is “Still Waiting” To See What Happens With FTX/Alameda $11.5 Million Seed Investment
DeepDive ^ | November 25, 2022 | ER Velasco

Posted on 11/26/2022 7:15:48 AM PST by DoodleBob

Documents in the failed crypto exchange FTX’s bankruptcy recently revealed that the firm–through its sister hedge fund Alameda–infused $11.5 million into Moonstone Bank, formerly Farmington State Bank. As more questions are raised than answers, the bank’s chief digital officer Janvier Chalopin attempted to clear the air about the curious stake.

The investment, according to Chalopin, was a “seed funding… to execute [their] new plan of being a tech focused bank.” He added that the investment was for 10% of the bank, valuing Moonstone at $115 million – a considerable boost in value considering the bank had just $10 million in customer deposits and only 25 staff at the time.

In March, Alameda spent $11.5 million on Farmington State Bank’s parent company, FBH. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the bank’s net worth was $5.7 million; it was the 26th-smallest bank in the country out of 4,800 at the time of the investment. It only had a single location and three staff as of this year prior to the acquisition. It didn’t even have online banking or a credit card.

But it is not only the peculiar stake that raised some questions. Back in 2020, Farmington State Bank was acquired by FBH whose chairman was Jean Chalopin, Janvier’s father. He is also the chairman of Deltec Bank, which, like FTX, is based in the Bahamas–but its most well-known client is a $65-billion crypto firm called Tether.

It’s unclear how FTX–based in Bahamas–was permitted to acquire a stake in a US-licensed bank, which would require approval from federal regulators. Banking professionals say it’s difficult to believe authorities would have knowingly permitted FTX to take control of a US bank.

When asked what would happen to that funding now that Alameda and FTX have gone bankrupt, he stated that the bank is “still waiting,” but that “[the equity] would follow the bankruptcy proceedings and be sold at some point.”

Chalopin, on the other hand, does not see Alameda’s demise as a significant challenge to the bank, saying “reputationally, [it’s] sad to see PR coming out negatively against us while we’re in early startup mode.”

Farmington State Bank was formed in 1929. A British citizen named Archie Chan acquired the bank in 1995, owning it until FBH bought it in 2020. In 2010, John Widman, the bank’s president, boasted about not offering credit cards, having more deposits than loans, and being a hobby farmer.

Farmington’s deposits had remained stable at around $10 million for a decade prior to the acquisition. However, the bank’s deposits increased about 600% to $84 million in the third quarter of this year, presumably after the Alameda investment. Chalopin argued that the bank has had “substantially more customers than that since we opened our doors to friends and family on our new platform.”

The bank trademarked the name Moonstone Bank on March 1, 2022 and changed to that brand three days later. Come March 7, Alameda invested $11.5 million into the newly-named bank.

Chalopin explained that the name was inspired by the startup bank’s two asset classes: “playing on ‘to the moon’ and ‘stone’ for our target industries of digital assets and hemp/cannabis related business.”

He also clarified prior reports saying that the bank had not been a Federal Reserve account holder until last year, indicating that Moonstone had been a Federal Reserve account holder but had “switched from the FDIC as their regulator to the Fed of SF.”

In a bizarre development, Moonstone CEO Ron Oliviera has his LinkedIn account changed from his chief executive position yesterday to having left the bank in August and is now a “self-employed” person. Now, the bank’s website lists Gary Rever as CEO, whose LinkedIn account shows he’s been a director of the bank’s board since February 2021.

...

The curious Farmington investment is one of the many surprises that were revealed during FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings. The crypto exchange, Bankman-Fried’s parents, and senior officials of the firm purchased at least 19 homes in the Bahamas valued at roughly $121 million over the last two year, according to official documents.

In his letter to staff after he signed the bankruptcy papers, Bankman-Fried claimed that there are “potential interest in billions of dollars of funding came in roughly eight minutes” minutes after inking the process final.

“Maybe there still is a chance to save the company. I believe that there are billions of dollars of genuine interest from new investors that could go to making customers whole. But I can’t promise you that anything will happen. Because it’s not my choice,” the FTX founder quipped in the letter.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alameda; bitcoin; cryptocurrency; farmington; ftx; moonstone; sambankmanfried
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To: PeterPrinciple
Isn't it odd that they haven't updated their branding to focus on their new Moon & Dope Mission?

They are just a "Ma & Pa Kettle, awe shucks, we are your local farm bank and have been serving you for 135 years"...

Our Mission
We are a multigenerational community bank that aims to enable everyone to be successful in their personal and business endeavors.

Our Role
We are proud to serve the small community of Farmington, WA as the only community bank in town.

Our Values
Built on ownership, integrity, open collaboration, sustainable work ethic and transparency. We exemplify our culture cornerstones by being goal-oriented individuals empowered to achieve the mission of the company together.


21 posted on 11/26/2022 8:21:55 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (If you're not part of the solution, you're just scumming up the bottom of the beaker!)
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To: DoodleBob

https://www.frbsf.org/banking/regulation/regulatory-reporting-reserves/

Moonstone switched to a state friendly regulatory more compatible with their situation. That is why the fed reserve didn’t catch this.


22 posted on 11/26/2022 8:26:04 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: dearolddad

We still don’t know.


23 posted on 11/26/2022 8:27:25 AM PST by Liz (Vox Populi, Vox Dei (voice of the people is the voice of God))
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To: PeterPrinciple; PGR88; Liz
Peter, that is a GREAT catch.

Agreed - state banking regulators don't have the tools or payroll to see everything.

The question is, was this rechartering with an eye to evading the Feds and oversight. Hmmm....

24 posted on 11/26/2022 8:41:25 AM PST by DoodleBob ( Gravity’s waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
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To: Wallace T.

The ownership of a bank is really not controlled once it has passed the barriers to entry. The fact is a bank with a valuation of 10 Million has 300 Million in commercial and home lending as assets and anther 100 Million under custody.

20 Million per year per Billion dollars under custody is a mid market bank ratio. The spending to support a bank of that side makes profitability very difficult as 4 to 10 million goes to just keeping the officers, paperwork and legal fees covered.


25 posted on 11/26/2022 8:45:01 AM PST by protoconservative (Been Conservative Before You Were Born )
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To: Tabusocial

FTX scandal is WAY bigger than ENRON! That CROOK BOUGHT this government!


26 posted on 11/26/2022 8:53:00 AM PST by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience)
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To: DoodleBob

Banking Senate.gov

Oversight of Financial Regulators:
A Strong Banking and Credit Union System for Main Street
DATE: Tuesday, November 15, 2022
TIME: 10:00 AM
LOCATION: Dirksen Senate Office Building 538

TOPIC
THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS will meet in OPEN SESSION, HYBRID FORMAT to conduct a hearing entitled, “Oversight of Financial Regulators: A Strong Banking and Credit Union System for Main Street.” The witnesses will be: The Honorable Michael S. Barr, Vice Chair for Supervision, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; The Honorable Todd M. Harper, Chair, National Credit Union Administration; The Honorable Martin J. Gruenberg, Acting Chair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and Mr. Michael J. Hsu, Acting Comptroller, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Pursuant to guidance from the CDC and OAP, Senate office buildings are not open to the public other than official business visitors and credentialed press at this time. Accordingly, in-person visitors cannot be accommodated at this briefing. We encourage the public to utilize the Committee’s livestream of the hearing, available on the website at http://www.banking.senate.gov.

All hearings are webcast live and will not be available until the hearing starts. Individuals with disabilities who require an auxiliary aid or service, including closed captioning service for webcast hearings, should contact the committee clerk at 202-224-7391 at least three business days in advance of the hearing date.

MEMBER STATEMENTS
Chairman Sherrod Brown (D - OH)
DOWNLOAD STATEMENT
Ranking Member Patrick J. Toomey (R - PA)
DOWNLOAD STATEMENT

WITNESSES
The Honorable Michael S. Barr
Vice Chair For Supervision
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

DOWNLOAD TESTIMONY
The Honorable Todd M. Harper
Chair
National Credit Union Administration

DOWNLOAD TESTIMONY
The Honorable Martin J. Gruenberg
Acting Chair
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

DOWNLOAD TESTIMONY
Mr. Michael J. Hsu
Acting Comptroller
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

DOWNLOAD TESTIMONY


27 posted on 11/26/2022 8:59:47 AM PST by Liz (Vox Populi, Vox Dei (voice of the people is the voice of God))
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To: DoodleBob

I may be in error. change was from fdic to fed reserve bank? still federal but surely more friendly.?

Change is a great way to hide things.


28 posted on 11/26/2022 9:00:37 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: All

Democrat Maxine Waters chairs the Financial Services Committee.

The Committee oversees all components of the nation’s housing and financial services sectors
including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities.


29 posted on 11/26/2022 9:22:16 AM PST by Liz (Vox Populi, Vox Dei (voice of the people is the voice of God))
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To: All

Allegations of Waters corruption

WIKI According to Chuck Neubauer and Ted Rohrlich writing in the Los Angeles Times in 2004, Waters’s relatives had made more than $1 million during the preceding eight years by doing business with companies, candidates and causes that Waters had helped. They claimed she and her husband helped a company get government bond business, and her daughter Karen Waters and son Edward Waters have profited from her connections.

Waters replied, “They do their business and I do mine.”[38] Liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Waters to its list of corrupt members of Congress in its 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011 reports.[39][40] Citizens Against Government Waste named her the June 2009 Porker of the Month due to her intention to obtain an earmark for the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center.[41][42]

Waters came under investigation for ethics violations and was accused by a House panel of at least one ethics violation related to her efforts to help OneUnited Bank receive federal aid.[43] Waters’s husband is a stockholder and former director of OneUnited Bank and the bank’s executives were major contributors to her campaigns. In September 2008, Waters arranged meetings between U.S. Treasury Department officials and OneUnited Bank so that the bank could plead for federal cash. It had been heavily invested in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and its capital was “all but wiped out” after the U.S. government took it over.

The husband’s bank received $12 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money.[44][45] The matter was investigated by the House Ethics Committee,[46][47] which charged Waters with violations of the House’s ethics rules in 2010.[48][49][50][51] On September 21, 2012, the House Ethics Committee completed a report clearing Waters of all ethics charges after nearly three years of investigation.[52]


30 posted on 11/26/2022 9:32:27 AM PST by Liz (Vox Populi, Vox Dei (voice of the people is the voice of God))
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To: DoodleBob

Since FTX started in Hong Kong....is there some possibility that the Fentanyl business used them to siphon money back out of the US?


31 posted on 11/26/2022 9:46:45 AM PST by pepsionice
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To: PeterPrinciple; Liz
He also clarified previous Protos reporting which suggested the bank hadn’t been a Federal Reserve account holder until last year, stating that Moonstone had indeed been a Federal Reserve account holder, but “switched from FDIC as their regulator to the Fed of SF.”

Per the Fed, "Each separately chartered institution may have one master account at a designated Reserve Bank, with three exceptions (see Exceptions to One Master Account Rule). The master account is both a record of financial transactions that reflects the financial rights and obligations of an account holder and of the Reserve Bank with respect to each other, and the place where opening and closing balances are determined. For each institution, all credits and debits resulting from the use of Federal Reserve services at any Federal Reserve office are booked to this single master account at one Reserve Bank. All overnight and daylight credit is disbursed and repaid through this account, and the Reserve Bank holding the account manages the credit risk posed by the institution's use of Federal Reserve services."

Thus, they were able to access the Fed's services, but the FDIC was their primary regulator.

The switch to the San Francisco Fed as their primary regulator is worth a question or two.

32 posted on 11/26/2022 10:15:21 AM PST by DoodleBob ( Gravity’s waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
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To: DoodleBob

The inside of that bank looks like something out of a silent movie.


33 posted on 11/26/2022 10:43:33 AM PST by Liz (Vox Populi, Vox Dei (voice of the people is the voice of God))
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To: DoodleBob

Is that show good?


34 posted on 11/26/2022 10:44:24 AM PST by EEGator
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To: DoodleBob
Back in 2020, Farmington State Bank was acquired by FBH whose chairman was Jean Chalopin, Janvier’s father. He is also the chairman of Deltec Bank, which, like FTX, is based in the Bahamas–but its most well-known client is a $65-billion crypto firm called Tether.

Deltec, the roots of the Tether house bank lie in the history of Wall Street

Tether's Bank Deltec Says Stablecoin Is Fully Backed by Reserves

35 posted on 11/26/2022 11:29:13 AM PST by mjp (pro-freedom & pro-wealth $)
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