The Silicon Valley Bank Crisis: Resources and Information


NOTE: As things are moving rapidly, please note this page and resources will be updated as they become available.  Click here to move down the page to resources. 

Monday, March 13, 2023 - The near-term crisis has largely been averted with the Federal Reserve, Treasury and FDIC regulators announcing that depositors regained access to 100% of their money starting Monday and that no losses will be borne by the taxpayer. The move should restore confidence and keep startups solvent and their employees employed, but there likely will be some longer-lasting psychological effects relating to capital risk that we should all be on the lookout for.

As the situation is analyzed, lessons will be learned on everything from levered banking investment models and the impact of interest rate fluctuations on long term bonds to the allocation to cyrptocurrency investments . We’ll continue to support our members and their portfolio companies by discussing and breaking down that information via our articles, webinars and at Summit 2023.  

While a run on a bank by current depositors can clearly accelerate negative trends we must also be mindful of the responsible support of the startup ecosystem that can and should come from venture capitalists, angels and other stakeholders. As they have proved time and time again, angels have embraced portfolio companies even in times of tougher fundraising and worked vigorously to keep startups, and job growth, moving forward. 

We commend the VC’s and angels that have rallied around their entrepreneurs to repurpose lessons learned from the 2008/2009 recession. One positive response can be seen in the more than  300 venture capital firms that have signed a letter saying they would be willing to work with Silicon Valley Bank under new ownership provided it is appropriately capitalized.

Look for future analysis of these points as more information becomes available.

From the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services: 

“Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named as receiver. The FDIC also created the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara (DINB) as a short-term vehicle to facilitate SVB’s resolution…SVB was the 16th largest bank in the U.S., and its failure is the second largest U.S. history, behind only the 2008 failure of Washington Mutual with roughly $300 billion in total assets. As of December 31, 2022, SVB had about $209 billion in total assets and about $175 billion in total deposits. Roughly $151 billion of those deposits were uninsured.” 

Additionally, we believe now more than ever, it is critical that the financial thresholds for the  accredited investor definition remain unchanged as ALL of our communities need access to capital, particularly those historically lacking such access. ACA will continue to follow and support the angel community and communicate as appropriate as changes occur.

Look for future analysis of these points as more information becomes available.

Resources: 

03/13/2023 - Read the latest from the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services (Updated). 

03/13/2023 - Morgan Lewis: The fast-moving developments involving Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and its financial stress are rippling throughout the financial services and emerging business sectors. 

03/13/202 - Foley Hoag: Department Of The Treasury, Federal Reserve, And FDIC Issue Joint Statement, Foley Hoag is continuing to monitor this development and what this means for customers with accounts at SVB. Click here for updates or to reach out for consultation. 

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