Status Of China-SVB Joint Venture Still A Mystery

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which courted Chinese start-ups, has caused widespread concern in China, where a string of founders and firms rushed to appease investors by saying their exposure was low, even non-existent.

Photo Insert: The SPD Silicon Valley Bank, which was owned 50-50 owned by SVB and local partner Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, said Saturday that its operations were sound.

SVB, which worked with nearly half of all venture-backed tech and healthcare companies in the US before it was taken over by the government, has a Chinese joint venture, which was set up in 2012 and targeted the country’s tech elite, Laura He reported for CNN late on Mar. 13, 2023.

The SPD Silicon Valley Bank, which was owned 50-50 owned by SVB and local partner Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, said Saturday that its operations were sound.

“The bank has a standardized corporate governance structure and an independent balance sheet,” it said in a statement.

“As China’s first technology bank, SPD Silicon Valley Bank is committed to serving Chinese science and technology companies, and has always had sound operations in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations.”

It’s unclear what will happen to SVB’s ownership of the joint venture. SVB Financial Group, the parent company of SVB, also has two business consulting firms and one financial service firm in mainland China, according to the corporate database Tianyancha.

Concerns about the failure of SVB have spread around the world, as investors fretted about the broader risks to the global banking sector and any potential spillover effect.

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