Topline
Roku—a hardware digital media company known for its streaming devices—held about 26% of its cash at Silicon Valley Bank Financial, according to a securities filing, as other companies have disclosed ties to the firm after it was closed by regulators Friday.
Roku held 26% of its total cash and cash equivalents with SVB Financial.
Key Facts
Roku held an estimated $487 million at SVB, representing approximately 26% of the company’s cash and cash equivalents as of Friday, according to a securities filing, wth its remaining $1.4 billion in cash is distributed across other financial institutions, the company noted.
Crypto firm Circle revealed in a tweet late Friday it held $3.3 billion with the bank, adding the remainder of its $40 billion in cash was held elsewhere.
Roblox Corporation held 5% of its $3 billion in cash ($150 million) at the bank, according to a filing, though the video game company said SVB’s collapse will “have no impact” on its day-to-day operations.
Crypto exchange platform BlockFi—which filed for bankruptcy in November—listed $227 million in uninsured holdings at the bank.
Rocket Lab USA, an aerospace manufacturing company, said in a filing it held 7.9% ($38 million) of its total cash at SVB.
Juniper Networks, a networking hardware company, said SVB held a “minimal” cash balance of less than 1% of the company’s total cash, which the company listed as $880 million at the end of 2022.
Some pharmaceutical and biotech companies have also disclosed holdings at SVB, including Protagonist Therapeutics ($13 million), Sangamo Therapeutics ($34 million), Eiger Biopharmaceuticals ($8.3 million) and Oncorus ($10 million), which said its holdings represented an estimated 23% of the company’s total cash.
Crucial Quote
Despite more than one-quarter of its cash at SVB—noting the company “does not know” how much it will be able to recover—Roku said it believes its existing cash balance will be “sufficient” to continue company operations for the next year “and beyond.”
Surprising Fact
SVB’s collapse is the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history after reporting $212 billion in assets for the fourth quarter of 2022. The firm is second only to Washington Mutual, whose 2008 failure came as the bank had an estimated $300 million in assets.
Key Background
SVB’s deposits grew from $60 billion in 2020 to nearly $200 billion two years later as the tech industry grew during the pandemic. The bank then invested in debt like U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, but as the Federal Reserve increased interest rates to combat inflation over the last year, the firm’s investments began to fall. SVB sold assets amid a surge in withdrawals, which created $1.8 billion in losses. The bank’s collapse—highlighted by a 64% plunge in share prices overnight—affected other banks and cryptocurrencies before it was closed by a California regulator.
Further Reading
What To Know About Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse—The Biggest Bank Failure Since 2008 (Forbes)
SVB Shut Down By California Regulator After Bank Stocks Crash Amid Turmoil (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/03/11/these-companies-roku-roblox-circle-and-more-held-major-funds-in-silicon-valley-bank-when-it-crashed/