Chicago City Wire

Signature Bank Illinois was recently misidentified as Signature Bank New York in an ABC News segment with George Stephanopoulos.

"This Week with George Stephanopoulos, ABC News incorrectly used our Signature Bank logo to reference the issues facing Signature Bank New York. There's no affiliation between the two organizations, and our Signature Bank is stronger than ever and has no cryptocurrency exposure," the bank said in a tweet on Sunday.

The misrepresentation continued with NBC News using the Signature Bank Illinois logo in a story about the closing of Silicon Valley Bank.

"More incredibly irresponsible reporting from NBC Nightly News, clearly following ABC News and their 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos' errant reporting yesterday. Signature Bank New York was closed yesterday, not Signature Bank in Illinois, whose logo is used here. Terrible journalism," Kevin Bustuga, co-founder and executive vice president of Signature Bank Illinois, said on Twitter.

Signature Bank New York was shut down by the New York Department of Financial Services on Sunday in a move that some describe as a message to banks to stay away from cryptocurrency. 

"I think this is the regulators - particularly, say, in New York - sending the message to banks, crypto is toxic; stay away from it," former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said in an interview with NPR.

The closing of Signature Bank New York follows the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, one of America's largest banks and one of two banks known for handling cryptocurrency. Rumors of Silicon Valley Bank seeking acquisition after failing to raise sufficient capital resulted in a run on the bank with $42 billion of withdrawals initiated on Thursday, causing the Nasdaq to halt trading of SIVB shares, according to Decrypt. 

"Fake news from @ABC. Typical financial sector illiteracy combined w/ the failure to fact-check. ABC owes @SignatureBnkChi, a strong, privately-owned, locally-run bank, a retraction and apology for mistaking their logo for that of Signature Bank of NY. Entirely different banks," local radio DJ Dan Profit said on Twitter.

"Here at Signature Bank [Illinois], our deposit relationships are strong, and our liquidity and capital ratios are well above industry standards. While we are always mindful of potential economic uncertainties, Signature Bank is on solid financial footing and ready to expand, and build new, relationships with our clients," Bryan Duncan, co-founder and executive vice president of Signature Bank Illinois, said to Chicago City Wire.