I'm an SVB employee who lost more than $1 million. Here's the inside story of our struggle to survive.

Abstraction: Anonymous SVB employee insider account of March 2023 bank collapse

Key points:

• SVB was taken over by the FDIC on March 10, 2023; employees learned from the news during an internal call, not management
• Staff spent the first weekend calling VC firms to rally support; signatories to a support statement grew from 13 to 630 VC firms
• Employee equity (often 50%+ of compensation) went to zero; the anonymous employee lost over $1 million in SVB stock
• The Fed's Sunday announcement that depositors would be made whole was the key turning point, enabling startups to make payroll
• SVB's differentiator was dedicated relationship bankers for all clients regardless of size — departing clients found traditional banks lacked this personal service

Connections: Silicon Valley Bank · Fdic · Startup Ecosystem

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/svb-employee-anonymous-insider-silicon-valley-bank-failure-fdic-fed-2023-3