Silicon Valley Bridge Bank CEO Invites Depositors to Return

Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, is open for business and actively opening new accounts.

The newly created “bridge bank,” operated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that replaced the failed Silicon Valley Bank — is offering both new and existing depositors full access to their money and FDIC protection for their deposits, the company said in a banner along the top of its website.

“This action by FDIC effectively means that deposits held with SVB are among the safest of any bank or institution in the country,” Silicon Valley Bridge Bank CEO Tim Mayopoulos said in a Tuesday (March 14) update posted on the bank’s website.

Mayopoulos, who announced Monday (March 13) that he had assumed his role at the bank, said in the update that the main thing customers can do to support the bank is to help it rebuild its deposit base.

The bank is working to rebuild, win back customers’ confidence and “continue supporting the innovation economy,” Mayopoulos said.

“If you, your portfolio companies, or your firm moved funds within the past week, please consider moving some of them back as part of a secure deposit diversification strategy,” Mayopoulos said in the update. “We are also open for business for any new customers. We are actively opening new accounts of all sizes and making new loans.”

As PYMNTS reported Friday (March 10) — the day the bank went under the receivership of the FDIC — SVB dubbed itself as “the FinTech industry banking leader.”

The company’s most recent earnings results show that the firm banked about half of the venture-backed tech and life science companies, and more than 40% of venture capital (VC)-backed tech initial public offerings (IPOs). Of its global fund banking portfolio, tech in general was a 39% slice, and FinTechs 3%.

Hundreds of startups and VC firms did their banking and kept billions of dollars with the bank. On the day the bank was closed and taken over, one startup said tech firms might not be able to find another bank that is as willing as Silicon Valley Bank was to work with them when they ran into tough times, The Information reported Friday.

On Tuesday, General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja said in a post on Twitter that his firm and a number of other VC firms are continuing to actively work with Silicon Valley Bank.

“We ask the rest of the global VC community to join us,” Taneja said in the post.