SVB Financial Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company, seized last week by the US, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
SVB Financial Group, along with its CEO and CFO, were the subject of a class action lawsuit this week that claims the company failed to disclose the risks that future interest rate increases would have on its business.
SVB Financial Group is no longer affiliated with Silicon Valley Bank after its seizure by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Its collapse was the second largest bank failure in US history after the demise of Washington Mutual in 2008.
The bank’s successor, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, falls under the jurisdiction of the FDIC and is not included in the Chapter 11 filing.
“The Chapter 11 process will allow SVB Financial Group to preserve value while evaluating strategic alternatives for its prized businesses and assets, especially SVB Capital and SVB Securities,” William Kosturos, head of restructuring at SVB Financial Group, said in a statement on Friday. . .
Regulated brokerage house SVB Securities and venture capital funds and private credit fund platform SVB Capital and their general associated entities are not included in the Chapter 11 filing and continue to operate as normal.
SVB Financial Group’s funded debt is approximately $3.3 billion in aggregate principal amount of unsecured notes. There are no claims against SVB Capital or SVB Securities. SVB Financial Group also has $3.7 billion of preferred capital outstanding.
SVB Financial Group believes it has approximately $2.2 billion of liquidity. The Santa Clara, California-based company said it also has other valuable investment securities accounts and other assets for which it is exploring strategic options.
The closure of Silicon Valley Bank last Friday and New York-based Signature Bank two days later has revived bad memories of the financial crisis that plunged the United States into the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
Over the weekend, the federal government, determined to restore public confidence in the banking system, took steps to protect all bank deposits, including those in excess of the FDIC’s $250,000 individual account limit.
