The bank had problems by the speed with which this information and, you know, the signals to sell went around. Another thing that came up as well is that the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank was pushing for deregulation after the 2008 financial crisis. There's deliberate undermining of existing regulations under the Trump administration, which was heavily lobbied for by Silicon Valley Bank. But I think these people were scared that like, their model was threatened and unraveling.
Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, how it’s part of a larger crisis in the tech sector, and why it’s turning people against the industry’s venture capitalists.
Jacob Silverman is a journalist and the host of The Naked Emperor, a new CBC podcast. Follow Jacob on Twitter at @SilvermanJacob.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- Jacob wrote about the lessons from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in the Globe and Mail.
- Paris wrote about how the SVB collapse should be a radicalizing moment against venture capitalists.
- A video circulated about Jason Calacanis bragging about SVB offering him favorable banking services.
- A screenshot shows a founder complaining about Chase closing his bank account because his company doesn’t have a physical office, saying SVB never required one.
- Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund told its portfolio companies to pull their money out of SVB before its collapse.
- SVB’s President pushed for Congress to reduce regulations and oversight on banks like SVB as it grew.
Support the show