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SVB
SVB, founded in 1983 and led by former CEO Greg Becker, was the dominant commercial lender to US venture capital and startups before its 2023 collapse.
SVB
SVB was founded in 1983 in Santa Clara, California, by Bill Biggerstaff and Robert Medearis as a community bank specializing in technology and life sciences. Greg Becker took over as CEO in 2011 and later became chairman; he presided over the bank's rapid growth during the venture capital boom of the 2010s. The bank's strategy focused on providing debt products and banking services to VC-backed startups and their investors, operating through four segments: Global Commercial Banking, SVB Private Bank, SVB Capital, and SVB Securities. By 2022, the bank had originated over $100 billion in venture debt (per SVB's own Annual Report) and held assets across venture lending, capital call lines, and equipment finance. Portfolio exposure was heavily concentrated in California, Massachusetts, and New York, with expansion into the UK, Germany, and Israel. At its peak SVB employed over 8,000 people. The bank's failure in March 2023 followed a bank run after the disclosure of a $1.8 billion loss from selling mortgage-backed securities to shore up liquidity (per Federal Reserve review). The FDIC took receivership; the bank was subsequently sold to First Citizens BancShares. The private banking arm, SVB Private, was acquired by First Citizens separately. SVB's structural differentiator was its integrated model as both a lender and a service provider to the venture ecosystem — what Becker called the "innovation economy" bank. Unlike traditional commercial banks, SVB's risk assessment relied on venture capital relationships rather than standard credit metrics, a model that proved fragile when interest rates rose and startup funding contracted.
General information
Firm type
other
Year founded
1983
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Additional offices
Santa Clara · Boston · Menlo Park
Principals
Greg Becker
CEO (former)
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What caused SVB's collapse in March 2023?
The bank's failure was triggered by a bank run after a $1.8 billion loss on mortgage-backed securities sales was disclosed on March 8, 2023 (per the Federal Reserve's April 2023 review). The run intensified over 48 hours, with depositors withdrawing approximately $42 billion, the largest bank failure since 2008.
Was SVB primarily a bank or a venture capital firm?
SVB operated as a commercial bank with a venture debt specialty. It was regulated as a state-chartered bank with a Federal Reserve-supervised holding company. Its core business was lending to VC-backed companies, not investing in them, though it did have venture capital arms including SVB Capital.
What happened to SVB's assets after the failure?
The FDIC took receivership on March 10, 2023. Most of SVB's assets and deposits were sold to First Citizens BancShares on March 27, 2023, for approximately $16.5 billion (per the FDIC). The securities portfolio and other assets were retained by the FDIC.
How did SVB's risk management contribute to its failure?
The Federal Reserve's April 2023 review found that SVB had inadequate risk management for interest rate risk, as it held long-duration securities funded by uninsured deposits from venture-backed companies. The bank had not stress-tested a scenario of rapid interest rate hikes combined with deposit outflows.
Did SVB focus only on the US market?
No. SVB had international operations in the UK, Germany, and Israel. Its UK subsidiary, SVB UK, was acquired by HSBC on March 13, 2023 for £1 (per HSBC press release). The bank's lending concentrated on US venture hubs, but its deposit base included global VC firms and their portfolio companies.
What was SVB Private Bank?
SVB Private Bank, originally Boston Private Financial Holdings acquired in 2021 for $1 billion, provided banking and wealth management to wealthy individuals tied to the innovation economy. It was sold as part of the FDIC receivership to First Citizens and continues operating as First Citizens Private Bank.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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