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Some Silicon Valley Bank customers are struggling to move money out of their bank accounts, multiple sources told TechCrunch.
The apparent exit comes after SVB said it lost $1.8 billion on the sale of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities it invested in due to rising interest rates. He stated that the bank is raising more capital and investing in high-yielding products. The concern occurred, causing the stock price to accumulate more than 50% at the time of publication.
Dozens of VCs are advising their portfolio companies to pull assets from banks, sources say, while others are pushing founders to shift at least some of their capital. Others warn that the shock is coming too soon – perhaps from news earlier this week that Silvergate, another bank, is closing. As a result, SVB is clearly experiencing deposit volatility from its user base.
A source told TechCrunch that parts of SVB’s website, as well as its customer support phones, use different browsers and apps, despite attempts to move capital. Another says account access controls are now view-only, meaning users can’t run downloads or wires. Others said on Twitter that they were unable to log into the online banking portal at all. A VC told me that, since the website is down, portfolio founders at SVB Bank branches are currently asking for a release of funds.
TechCrunch spoke to one of the founders, who asked to remain anonymous, and eventually called a local representative who said they found SVB customer support. The representative told them that the website was empty due to heavy traffic from users. The founder finally went through and deposited the millions he had in the bank into First Republic Bank, a transaction expected to take place tomorrow morning.
“When the dust settles, we’ll bring some, if not all, back,” the founder said, adding that they don’t want to participate in an attempted bank run. Still, they said, “The game theory here is that if you don’t, you can lose your company, and if you do, it’s not that big of a deal.” The entrepreneur talks about the ethical obligations of not attracting money, but says “everybody’s crazy, everybody’s thinking about SBF”, so they finally transferred money.
Another founder told TechCrunch that they bank with SVB and “are taking a low-alert approach, even though they get some emails from investors.” We’re changing where we keep our cash (we’re a credit card company, so we’ve moved some to our sponsor bank.) We’re pretty sure SVB isn’t going anywhere.
In a call earlier today, CEO Greg Baker told clients that the bank has “sufficient liquidity” to support its clients, adding that “if everyone but one is saying SVB is in trouble, that’s going to be a challenge.” “Relax,” the executive told VC clients. That is my question. Let’s be here for 40 years, supporting our portfolio companies, supporting venture capitalists.
If you have a juicy tip or lead on happenings in the venture world, you can reach Natasha Mascarenhas on Twitter @nmasc_ or via Signal at +1 925 271 0912. Identity requests will be honored.
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