Why Silicon Valley Bank was so important to UK tech sector

SVB specialised in high-growth startups, solving problems other lenders would not touch

• UK working on cash lifeline for tech firms hit by SVB collapse
• Yellen says SVB won’t receive bailout after collapse

Silicon Valley Bank’s name isn’t just hollow branding. Founded in Santa Clara in the 1980s, in the heart of the Bay Area’s tech cluster, it was a regional bank that served the local economy.

As that local economy became the engine of American growth, SVB – which collapsed on Friday – grew alongside it. It remained a tech specialist, a limitation that allowed it to continue to be regulated as a regional bank and so avoid the stricter requirements piled on larger competitors, but otherwise spread across the US and the world.