SVB Financial Group

Silicon Valley Bank, provides commercial banking services, expertise and insights to the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity, venture capital and premium wine industries. Silicon Valley Bank operates in centres of innovation around the world and is one of SVB’s core businesses with SVB Capital, SVB Private and SVB Securities. With global commercial banking services, Silicon Valley Bank helps address the unique needs of its dynamic, fast-growing, innovative clients.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, SVB Financial Group operates internationally. SVB Financial Group was founded in 1983.

1983: The company was founded and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA. The following year, the bank went international with the launch of the companies Pacific Rim and Trade Finance. Its first office opened on North First Street in San Jose.

1985: The Palo Alto office opened.

1986: SVB merged with National InterCity Bancorp and opened an office in Santa Clara.

1988: The bank completed its IPO, raising $6 million.

1990: The bank opened its first office on the East Coast, near Boston.

1992: The bank was hit by the real estate burst (50% of the bank's assets) and recorded a $2.2 million yearly loss.

1993: The bank's founding CEO, Roger V. Smith, was replaced by John C. Dean; Smith became Vice Chairman of the bank.

1994: Smith left to launch the Smith Venture Group.

1997: SVB opened a branch in Atlanta.

1999: The company was reincorporated in Delaware.

2000: SVB opened a branch in Florida.

2001: SVB Securities acquired the Palo Alto investment banking firm Alliant Partners for $100 million.

2002: Following the crash of the dot-com bubble, the bank's stock dropped 50%. The bank began expanding its private banking business, which up to that point had been done primarily as a favour to wealthy venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.

2004: The bank opened international subsidiaries in Bangalore, India, and London.

2005: It opened offices in Beijing and Israel.

2008: In December, SVB Financial received a $235 million investment from the United States Treasury through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

2009: The United States Treasury received $10 million in dividends from Silicon Valley Bank and, in December, the bank repurchased the outstanding stock and warrants held by the government, funding this through a stock sale of $300 million.

2012: In November, the bank announced a 50-50 joint venture with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) to provide capital to start-up technology entrepreneurs.

2014: The productivity of Silicon Valley Bank’s workers can be shown by the fact that this year for every employee the bank had it generated about $130,000 of net income (SVB Financial Group) compared to Citibank’s about $30,000 of net income per employee (Citigroup Inc.).

2015: In July, the joint venture was granted approval by the China Bank Regulatory Commission (CBRC) to operate in renminbi (RMB), the official currency of the People’s Republic of China. According to the bank itself, SVB was catering banking and financial services to 65% of all startups.

“We provide a full range of financial services to companies of all sizes in innovation centres around the world.”

“Helping companies and partners innovate, thrive and create jobs; providing a culture where our employees can learn and grow; and, together with our partners and employees, building toward a more just world.”