SVB Financial Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Troubled SVB Financial Group has filed a voluntary petition for a court-supervised reorganization under Chapter 11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court to preserve value.

Announcing the news on March 17, SVB said that the funds of its venture capital arm SVB Capital and the broker-dealer SVB Securities, as well as funds of general partner entities are not included in the bankruptcy proceedings. The entities will continue to operate in the ordinary manner while SVB Financial Group proceeds to explore strategic alternatives for its businesses.

SVB Financial Group also emphasized that the company is no longer affiliated with Silicon Valley Bank N.A., or the bank’s private banking and wealth management business, SVB Private. The bank’s successor, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A., is operating under the jurisdiction of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and is not included in the Chapter 11 filing.

According to SVB Group’s estimations, the firm has $2.2 billion of liquidity. In addition to cash and its interests in SVB Capital and SVB Securities, the firm has “other valuable investment securities accounts and other assets” for which it is also exploring strategic options.

SVB Group’s funded debt is about $3.3 billion in aggregate principal amount of unsecured notes, which are “only recourse to SVB Financial Group” and have no impact on SVB Capital or SVB Securities, the announcement notes. SVB Group also has $3.7 billion of preferred stock.

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SVB Group aims to deploy the court-supervised process to evaluate strategic alternatives for SVB Capital, SVB Securities and its other assets, SVB Group’s chief restructuring officer William Kosturos said, adding:

“The Chapter 11 process will allow SVB Financial Group to preserve value as it evaluates strategic alternatives for its prized businesses and assets, especially SVB Capital and SVB Securities.”

Kosturos stressed that SVB Capital and SVB Securities will continue to operate and serve clients, led by their independent teams.

The ongoing SVB crisis has triggered a lot of uncertainty not only in the traditional banking system, but also in some cryptocurrency markets. Circle, the operator of the major stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), had $3.3 billion, or roughly 8% of its reserves, tied to SVB after the bank shut down operations on March 8. Due to the events, USDC briefly depegged, tumbling to $0.87 and subsequently repegging amid reports of SVB resolution.

On March 13, banking giant HSBC officially announced that its subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank acquired Silicon Valley Bank UK for 1 British pound, $1.2. According to HSBC Group CEO Noel Quinn, the acquisition made “excellent strategic sense” for HSBC’s business in the United Kingdom, strengthening its commercial banking franchise.