Silicon Valley Bank's new CEO says institution is 'conducting business as usual'

On Monday, Silicon Valley Bank’s new CEO Tim Mayopoulos reassured clients that it was "open and conducting business as usual" as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation works to resurrect the recently collapsed financial institution. 

Mayopoulos, who was selected to head the "bridge bank" under its new name, Silicon Valley Bank NA, revealed that just days after going under, the FDIC had made it possible for depositors to access their money.  



"Dear Clients: Silicon Valley Bank, N.A. is open and conducting business as usual," Mayopoulos wrote in a letter announcing his role as the new CEO. 

He explained that over the weekend, the FDIC "transferred all deposits and substantially all assets of the former Silicon Valley Bank to a newly created, full-service FDIC-operated 'bridge bank' in an action designed to protect all depositors of Silicon Valley Bank." 

"Depositors have full access to their money," he said, adding that "new and existing deposits are protected." Mayopoulos went on to note that while things are back to normal in the US, it could take a few days to get international transactions up and running again. 

According to Investopedia, a bridge bank is "an institution that has been authorized by a national regulator or central bank to operate an insolvent bank until a buyer can be found." It is tasked with holding the assets and liabilities of the failed bank in the interim.

In this case, it was the FDIC who stepped in and ensured that clients of SVB were taken care of. 

In just a few days, the FDIC managed to close the bank, take over, hire Mayopoulos, and get operations running again. 

Before being brought in to run SVB NA, Mayopoulos was president of a Silicon Valley-based financial software company, and previously served on the leadership team that joined Fannie Mae in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008 until 2009 before going on to run the bank from 2012 until 2018.