- Announces Ministerial Order to Establish
- Hires Barbara Dirks as Head of Canada
TORONTO, March 14, 2018 /CNW/ -- Silicon
Valley Bank (SVB Financial Group, NASDAQ:SIVB), the bank of the
world's most innovative companies and their investors, today
announced two milestones in its plans to further expand into
Canada to better serve the
country's technology and life science companies and their
investors. Canada's Minister of
Finance has issued an order authorizing Silicon Valley Bank to
establish a lending branch in Canada, which will commence operations after
it receives the approval of the Superintendent of Financial
Institutions. The company also announced that it has hired
Barbara Dirks to lead the
Canada expansion and team,
effective immediately.
Silicon Valley Bank is dedicated to supporting the global
innovation economy and has focused on helping address the unique
needs of entrepreneurs, companies and investors in the technology
and life science sectors for the last 35 years. The company offers
a range of specialized financial services through locations around
the world, and has served the Canadian market on a cross-border
basis for several years via its US operations, supporting clients
such as Drop, Lightspeed, Shopify and Xenon Pharmaceuticals. With
$51 billion in assets and more than
2,400 employees globally, SVB strives to improve the probability of
its clients' success at every phase of their lifecycle.
In May of 2017, Silicon Valley Bank applied for the regulatory
approvals required to establish a branch in Canada. Once the Superintendent's approval is
granted, Silicon Valley Bank will be able to provide in-market
commercial banking solutions to private and public technology and
life science companies and their investors across Canada. Silicon Valley Bank will continue to
provide additional cross-border banking services to Canadian
companies that have, or seek, a US presence.
"This marks an important milestone in our aspirations to support
our innovative clients in key international markets, and we are
thrilled to bring Barbara on board to lead the way in Canada," said Mark
Gallagher, Senior Market Manager for Silicon Valley Bank.
"Barbara has that unique mix of attributes and values we
cherish. Her passion for entrepreneurs, depth of expertise
and operational leadership, based on more than 17 years of
experience in Canada and the US,
are the right combination of skills to help us deliver our
specialized knowledge and global network to Canada's amazing innovation economy."
"Silicon Valley Bank's expansion into Canada will significantly support the tech
ecosystem here," said Jason Atkins,
CEO of 360insights. "We've worked with SVB for more than three
years now and they are a true partner. They understand our
business, create opportunities for us to connect with other
technology companies and investors, and provide flexible and
innovative financing solutions."
Dirks joins Silicon Valley Bank from the Royal Bank of
Canada where she was Senior Vice
President of Network and Advisor Strategy in personal and
commercial banking. Previously, she was Chief Operations Officer of
the North American commercial banking group at Bank of Montreal, where she worked in various roles
for 15 years. Dirks earned an MBA and bachelor of laws from the
University of Western Ontario, as well
as a bachelor's degree in political economy and economics from the
University of Toronto. She is a member
of the board of governors for the Royal
Military College of Canada.
As Head of Canada, Dirks will
provide leadership and strategic oversight for all of Silicon
Valley Bank's activities in Canada, including business development and
operations. She will also chair the supervisory committee for
Silicon Valley Bank in Canada.
About Silicon Valley Bank
For 35 years, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped innovative
companies and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB
provides targeted financial services and expertise through its
offices in innovation centers around the world. With commercial,
international and private banking services, SVB helps address the
unique needs of innovators. Learn more at svb.com.
©2018 SVB Financial Group. All rights reserved. SVB, SVB
FINANCIAL GROUP, SILICON VALLEY BANK, MAKE NEXT HAPPEN NOW and the
chevron device are trademarks of SVB Financial Group, used under
license. Silicon Valley Bank is a member of the FDIC and the
Federal Reserve System. Silicon Valley Bank is the California bank subsidiary of SVB Financial
Group (Nasdaq: SIVB). SVB is currently not authorized to carry on
business in Canada and offers lending solutions
exclusively cross-border from the United
States.
SOURCE Silicon Valley Bank