Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank was known for serving startups, venture capital firms, and the tech world around them, which made it much more specialized than a typical retail bank. By our assessment, that specialization was its real strength: it understood the cash-flow ups and downs of young companies and the financing habits of the innovation sector. The same narrow focus was also the weakness, because a bank built around one ecosystem can be exposed when that ecosystem turns. In practice, it was a bank for a particular kind of business life, not for someone who just wants a simple current account. It sat apart from ordinary high-street banks by living so close to the startup economy. The rating stays middling because the niche was sharp, but the model was not broad or calm enough to deserve more.