NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - SVB Financial Group (SIVB.O) said on Tuesday that Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) was the acquirer of a bond portfolio on which it booked a $1.8 billion loss, a transaction that set in motion the failure of SVB.
The loss on the portfolio was the reason SVB, a technology-focused lender known as Silicon Valley Bank, attempted a $2.25 billion stock sale last week using Goldman Sachs as an adviser.
The portfolio SVB sold to Goldman Sachs on March 8 consisted mostly of U.S. Treasuries and had a book value of $23.97 billion, SVB said.
The transaction was carried out "at negotiated prices" and netted the bank $21.45 billion in proceeds, SVB added.
Goldman Sachs' purchase of the bond portfolio was handled by a division that was separate from the unit that handled SVB's stock sale, according to a source familiar with the matter.