Here’s how bad the damage is for Silicon Valley Bank’s public clients

 

By Jessica Bursztynsky

A handful of publicly traded companies revealed Friday afternoon they hold reserves in Silicon Valley Bank, the now-shuttered financial giant that has been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Video-streaming giant Roku said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it holds about $487 million, or roughly 26%, of its cash and cash equivalents at SVB. “The Company’s deposits with SVB are largely uninsured. At this time, the Company does not know to what extent the Company will be able to recover its cash on deposit at SVB,” Roku wrote in the filing, sending shares down nearly 4% in after-hours trading.

The downfall of the bank was swift and unexpected for many of its clients. SVB focused on serving the venture capital and tech communities, gaining a wide swath of respect. But when the bank said earlier in the week that it sought to raise cash to help its balance sheet, the move sent clients into a panic, with many of them subsequently pulling out their funds.

Now questions are swirling over what happens to funds still held at the bank. The FDIC’s standard insurance will cover up to $250,000 per depositor. Those with higher amounts are expected to receive certificates for the remaining balance and could receive funds as future dividend payments, according to the agency.

 

Several pharmaceutical firms disclosed that they had holdings in SVB. Sangamo Therapeutics, a biotech company, said in a filing it had approximately $34.4 million in deposits with the bank. Repare Therapeutics said it had less than 2% of its marketable securities with SVB. X4 Pharmaceuticals had about 2.5% of its cash deposits there. Protagonist Therapeutics also reported about $13 million of its cash tied up, though it says it expects its exposure to be limited.

Eiger Biopharmaceuticals reported cash deposits of about $8.3 million, or nearly 7% of its cash and cash equivalents. Axsome Therapeutics said it “has material cash deposits with both SVB and Citibank.” Oncorus also had an aggregate balance of about $10 million, or approximately 23% of “the Company’s total current cash, cash equivalents and short-term investment, in the bank.”

Semiconductor firm Ambarella held deposits of approximately $17 million. Digital gaming platform Roblox held about 5% of its total cash reserves in SVB, which it said will have “no impact on the day-to-day operations” of the company. LendingClub, a financial services company, said it had a deposit of $21 million, an amount that “is not material to the Company’s liquidity position or capital levels, and does not pose a risk to the Company’s ongoing business or operations.”

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