The failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is affecting startup founders around the world, who fear a lack of access to money and the ability to pay their employees.
The bank’s loan book in Canada has doubled in the past year and the UK unit is set to file for insolvency.
The leaders of 180 technology companies sent a letter to British Chancellor Jeremy Hunt asking for his intervention to prevent the collapse of the sector. SVB also had branches in China, Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, and Sweden.
The bankruptcy of the bank could wipe out startups around the world.
The UK Treasury has started surveying start-ups to ask about their deposits, level of liquidity and access to banking services from SVB and other banks.
The founders await information on how their deposits at the bank will be managed. The Lingumi company’s cash is held at SVB, and its CEO tried to transfer the accounts via an iPhone app.
The founders fear the collapse of the sector and the involuntary liquidation of many companies. Jack O’Meara, founder of Ocher Bio, a London genomics startup, tried to pull his deposits out of the SVB without success.
California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna held a town hall meeting with more than 600 people including startup founders, technology leaders and SVB employees.
SVB customers in California, many of them startup founders, stood outside the bank’s branch on Silicon Valley’s famed Sand Hill Road on Friday, knocking on locked doors and trying to get FDIC representatives to answer. to your questions.
Some founders try to find temporary solutions. Uncapped, a British startup that provides funding to other startups, has announced that it will offer emergency loans to affected companies.