Silicon valley bank crisis why is everyone talking about svb

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The startup world was thrown into chaos Thursday when a lender little-known outside of Silicon Valley sparked a wave of panic in tech circles that dragged down banking shares around the world

Events snowballed after Silicon Valley Bank announced a share sale to shore up its finances, following a significant loss on its portfolio

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Santa Clara-based SVB’s ordeal began after its parent company,  SVB Financial Group, announced that it sold $21 billion of securities from its portfolio and said it was holding a $2.25 billion share sale to shore up finances.

What effect has it had on SVB?

SVB's stock plunged 60% Thursday and its bonds posted record declines. SVB Chief Executive Officer Greg Becker held a conference call with the bank’s clients, including venture capital investors, urging them to “stay calm" in a bid to avoid a run on the bank.

Who are the SVB’s clients?

It lists Pinterest Inc.t, Shopify Inc. and cybersecurity firm  CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. among the bigger household names it has served.

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What's the worst-case scenario?

The worst-case scenario for any bank is that it ends up with too little cash to operate or suffers enough losses to erode its capital, prompting regulators to sell the bank to a stronger rival or wind it down. But SVB's stock sale should help to prevent that. Time will tell.