As of the end of 2022, Silicon Valley Bank held approximately $74 billion in loans and $175 billion in deposits. While the bank provided loans to a variety of borrowers, including homebuyers, commercial real estate borrowers, and winemakers in California, it had a heavy concentration of loans to the burgeoning tech and startup company sector. In fact, Silicon Valley Bank was the first to create loan products specifically for startup companies, according to information on its website.
One notable feature of the bank's lending practices was the prevalence of securities-related loans in its portfolio, which was of concern to analysts and industry experts. Regulatory data indicates that almost half of the bank's total loans, or approximately $34 billion, went to borrowers who used the money to purchase or carry securities. While other lenders do make these types of loans, they do so in far smaller amounts, as is evidenced by regulatory filings.
The precise details of the securities-backed loans are not publicly available, but the fact that they comprise such a significant proportion of the bank's portfolio raises questions about risk management practices at the institution. Unlike other types of loans, which are typically backed by tangible assets like homes or commercial properties, these loans were backed by unidentified securities, which may have declined in value as interest rates rose and the tech sector experienced a downturn.
This concentration of risk among a single borrower group, coupled with the lack of tangible assets backing the loans, made the securities-backed loans a potentially unattractive asset for other banks to acquire or merge with. Despite the fact that Silicon Valley Bank had a significant loan book, with a value of $74 billion, its unorthodox lending practices may have made it less desirable as a merger or acquisition target.
According to Bill Moreland, the CEO of BankRegData, a provider of bank regulatory statistics and analysis, the high proportion of securities-related loans in Silicon Valley Bank's portfolio is indicative of questionable risk management practices at the institution. Other banks do make these types of loans, but they do so in much smaller amounts. For example, J.P. Morgan Chase had $14 billion in these loans on its books at year-end, but with total loans of $1.1 trillion, these securities-backed loans made up just 1.3% of its lending.
It is worth noting that Silicon Valley Bank's loans to private equity and venture capital firms were also a significant part of its loan portfolio, making up 56% of the bank's total loans at year-end. These loans were intended to be repaid by investors in the firms' funds when the firms requested more capital from them. Another type of loan favored by the bank was venture debt, which involved making loans to startup companies equivalent to between 25% and 30% of the amount the companies had most recently raised in private transactions with investors.
Venture debt, in particular, can be risky since it relies on a company's ability to raise additional capital from investors later to repay the loans. If a startup company is unable to raise fresh capital from investors or can only do so at a lower valuation than in previous money-raising rounds, this can result in a "down round" of financing, which requires a total valuation of the company at a lower level.
The decline in tech and startup valuations since Silicon Valley Bank's assets and deposits peaked in 2022 has raised concerns about the bank's venture debt business. The bank's collapse is currently being investigated by federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and investors are worried about the health of other U.S. and global banks. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testified before Congress about the turmoil in the nation's banking system, promising to take a "careful look" at what happened at Silicon Valley Bank.
Furthermore, this situation also highlights the importance of proper risk management in banking institutions, particularly those operating in high-risk industries such as technology and startups. It is essential for banks to ensure that they are diversifying their loan portfolios and not concentrating their lending to a specific borrower group or sector.
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank also raises concerns about the health of other U.S. and global banks, and the potential impact of the failure of a large financial institution on the overall banking system. The investigations by federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission into the causes of the bank's failure will provide valuable insights into the risks associated with unconventional lending practices in the banking industry.
In conclusion, the failure of Silicon Valley Bank can be attributed to its uncommon lending practices, particularly its heavy concentration of loans to borrowers who used the money to buy or carry securities of their own. The high concentration of risk among one borrower group, coupled with the lack of easy-to-value assets backing these loans, raised concerns about the bank's risk management practices. This situation highlights the importance of diversification and proper risk management in the banking industry, particularly in high-risk sectors such as technology and startups.
