March 10, 2023
Silicon Valley Bank seized by regulators
California regulators closed Silicon Valley BankA bank serving startups and venture capital — its 2023 collapse shocked the tech funding ecosystem. on March 10, 2023 — the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history and a shock to the startup ecosystem that held most of its deposits there.
What it was for
Thousands of startups faced payroll crises until the FDIC, Treasury, and Fed guaranteed deposits. The run exposed how concentrated tech banking had become and pushed CFOs toward diversified treasury strategies — while venture funding was already tightening after the 2022 rate hikes and crypto collapse.
Why it's here
SVB's failure was the biggest banking crisis to hit Silicon Valley since 2008.
Why it mattered
It forced startups to rethink cash management and sped up regulatory scrutiny of regional banks.
What it solved
This was a liquidity crisis — startups needed immediate access to payroll deposits, not a software patch.
Media
ImageSilicon Valley BankMinh Nguyen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- FTX files for bankruptcy after liquidity collapseNovember 11, 2022
- Lehman Brothers bankruptcy triggers global financial crisisSeptember 15, 2008