Some international regulators have frozen the assets of local SVB branches

As the situation begins to solidify around Silicon Valley Bank, many international companies that have interacted in one way or another with the American regional bank are now trying to understand the implications of the bank’s failure. Regulators in Canada and Germany moved to freeze Silicon Valley Bank branches in those respective countries – but SVB had very limited operations in overseas markets.

Although Silicon Valley Bank officially operated in several countries, most of its international operations consisted of offices or representative offices with local staff. In other words, the banking operations were carried out by the Silicon Valley Bank in the United States.

There are a few exceptions to this structure. In the United Kingdom, Silicon Valley Bank has created a suitable subsidiary. As you may have already learned, Silicon Valley Bank UK also faced a bank run before HSBC UK acquired the UK branch for £1 to ensure continuity of banking services.

In China, Silicon Valley Bank has formed a joint venture with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. For now, the Sino-U.S. joint venture says it is “unaffected by the turmoil surrounding the U.S. lender,” as Bloomberg reported. But the Chinese founders fear that the situation will continue in the country.

The British subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank had representative offices in the Nordic countries, in Denmark and Sweden more precisely. Activities were quite limited in these countries because you cannot generate sales from a representative office – you can only execute non-transactional operations.

Similarly, Silicon Valley Bank had a representative office in Israel, meaning that the Israeli founders did business with Silicon Valley Bank in the United States.

In Canada, Silicon Valley Bank had a branch for business lending activities. The bank held no commercial or individual deposits. According to Reuters, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has decided to temporarily take control of the Canadian branch to protect the bank’s creditors in the country.

Similarly, in Germany, BaFin – the country’s financial regulator – decided to freeze the local branch of Silicon Valley Bank in the country. Also according to Bloomberg, the regulator wants to ensure that the agency can meet its commitments to creditors. The German branch also does not accept deposits.

Overall, Silicon Valley Bank has had a limited international presence, and the effect on international startups should also be limited. Even though some entrepreneurs opened a bank account when they raised funds from US venture capital firms, the fact that the Federal Reserve and HSBC UK now operate SVB and SVB UK respectively means that most startups should be able to recover access your funds today.

As the situation begins to solidify around Silicon Valley Bank, many international companies that have interacted in one way or another with the American regional bank are now trying to understand the implications of the bank’s failure. Regulators in Canada and Germany moved to freeze Silicon Valley Bank branches in those respective countries – but SVB had very limited operations in overseas markets.

Although Silicon Valley Bank officially operated in several countries, most of its international operations consisted of offices or representative offices with local staff. In other words, the banking operations were carried out by the Silicon Valley Bank in the United States.

There are a few exceptions to this structure. In the UK, Silicon Valley Bank has set up an appropriate subsidiary. As you may have already learned, Silicon Valley Bank UK also faced a bank run before HSBC UK acquired the UK branch for £1 to ensure continuity of banking services.

In China, Silicon Valley Bank has formed a joint venture with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. For now, the Sino-U.S. joint venture says it is “unaffected by the turmoil surrounding the U.S. lender,” as Bloomberg reported. But the Chinese founders fear that the situation will continue in the country.

The British subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank had representative offices in the Nordic countries, in Denmark and Sweden more precisely. Activities were quite limited in these countries because you cannot generate sales from a representative office – you can only execute non-transactional operations.

Similarly, Silicon Valley Bank had a representative office in Israel, meaning that the Israeli founders did business with Silicon Valley Bank in the United States.

In Canada, Silicon Valley Bank had a branch for business lending activities. The bank held no commercial or individual deposits. According to Reuters, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has decided to temporarily take control of the Canadian branch to protect the bank’s creditors in the country.

Similarly, in Germany, BaFin – the country’s financial regulator – decided to freeze the local branch of Silicon Valley Bank in the country. Also according to Bloomberg, the regulator wants to ensure that the agency can meet its commitments to creditors. The German branch also does not accept deposits.

Overall, Silicon Valley Bank had a limited international presence, and the effect on international startups should also be limited. Even though some entrepreneurs opened a bank account when they raised funds from US venture capital firms, the fact that the Federal Reserve and HSBC UK now operate SVB and SVB UK respectively means that most startups should be able to recover their access to your funds today.

Megan Schneider

"Typical zombieaholic. General twitter fanatic. Food fanatic. Gamer. Unapologetic analyst."

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