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CBI: 50 YEARS OF BUSINESS INNOVATION | UK SPOTLIGHT


personalised banking relationships. In fact, in 2012, 2013 and 2014 the bank won the Investor Allstars award for best service provider. “We were established by a group of


BACKING START-UPS AND GLOBAL LEADERS ALIKE


SILICON VALLEY BANK www.svb.com/uk


entrepreneurs – largely out of frustration at the lack of attention other banks were giving to small businesses and start-ups,” says Gerald Brady, Head of UK Relationship Banking. “Our expertise makes a big difference. Most traditional high- street banks have the ‘small business banker’ who, along with banking a technology business, banks the hairdresser and the baker and the candlestick maker. But they don’t have a specialised understanding of how technology businesses grow.” By contrast, SVB knows how to help innovative


businesses grow from start-ups to corporate and publicly listed companies, and how to meet their banking needs at every stage of growth. “Some of them are rocket ships,” says Brady.


In today’s globally connected world, businesses must innovate and embrace technology. That’s as true in their day-to-day business dealings as it is in their approach to banking – and it’s where the expertise of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) lie. Named after San Francisco’s technological hub, SVB has been a pioneering force since


its inception in 1983. In that time, the bank has introduced new methods of lending while supporting up-and-coming businesses in three sectors: technology; life science and healthcare; and energy and resource innovation. Today, it’s a thriving international operation with around 14,000 clients and 1,800 staff that offers genuinely


STRONG RELATIONSHIPS One of the bank’s earliest success stories was Cisco – a business that designs, manufactures and sells networking equipment. Having joined forces when Cisco was three years old, the business has been transformed from a fledgling, husband-and-wife operation into a multinational corporation. Twenty eight years later, the two continue their strong relationship. This ability to create lasting connections and creative banking solutions for growing businesses is typical of SVB. Indeed, the bank has similarly solid histories with Twitter, which also joined as a start-up, and current US rising stars such as the peer-to-peer loans business Lending Club and transport app developer Uber. SVB’s innovative lending model further


sets it apart from competitors. “If you walk into a high-street bank looking for a business loan, they will ask about your revenues, how profitable you are, what assets you’ve got,” says Brady. “They may also ask for a personal guarantee. We’re dramatically different.” At SVB, the approach is instead based on the


premise that a lot of start-up businesses have no revenues and no assets other than intellectual property, though they’ll have usually raised some venture capital. “We look at the next round of venture capital they’re going to raise,” says Brady. “It means we’re able to lend to businesses »


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