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Definition: Silicon Valley Bank


A Silicon Valley banking institution in Santa Clara, California that catered to many of the tech world's best-known companies and investment firms. The 16th largest bank in the U.S., Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was established in 1983 and went into receivership in March 2023 after depositors began withdrawing funds en masse. With branches in Georgia, Florida, as well as in India, China and Israel, SVB was lender to computer and biotech startups as well as a provider of banking services to wealthy individuals. See Silicon Valley.

Banks Do Fail
Bank failures are not as uncommon as one might think. From 2008 to 2014 in the U.S., more than 550 banks failed.




A Dark Day for SVB
Poorly timed investments in bonds caused SVB to take a huge loss when interest rates rose in 2022, and the bad press spread quickly. Its stock plunged, and depositors began withdrawing their assets, creating a bank run and ultimately the second largest bank failure in the U.S. since the financial crisis of 2008. On March 11, 2023, this aired on MSNBC.