Offering growth capital to Canada's technology and life science companies
and their investors
TORONTO, March 4, 2019 /CNW/ -- Silicon Valley Bank
(SVB), the bank of the world's most innovative companies and their
investors, today announced that it has been granted a licence in
Canada from the Superintendent of
Financial Institutions and has opened its Canadian headquarters in
Toronto. SVB may now provide
in-market commercial financing solutions to private and public
technology and life science companies and their investors across
Canada.
"SVB's official entrance into Canada is another sign that our technology
ecosystem is growing quickly," said Andrew
Graham, Co-Founder and CEO of Borrowell, a fintech company
and SVB client based in Toronto.
"They have worked with many of the world's most successful
technology companies and have a deep understanding of high-growth
innovation companies across life-stages. SVB's support has been
extremely helpful to us as we've scaled our business."
Silicon Valley Bank, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, 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 more than 35 years.
SVB has served the Canadian market on a cross-border basis since
2000 via its US operations, supporting clients such as Drop, HLS
Therapeutics, Shopify, SnapTravel and Vanedge Capital with a range
of specialized financial services. Silicon Valley Bank is the
lender of choice for startups seeking debt financing in
Canada, according to The
Logic. The Bank works with companies around the world through
offices across the US and in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Israel and China.
"Canada has a thriving
innovation sector and we're excited to be a catalyst for its
continued growth," said Greg Becker,
CEO of Silicon Valley Bank. "The Canadian banking licence is a
significant milestone in our global expansion. The growing team
there is well-positioned to execute on SVB's mission to help
innovative companies and their investors be even more
successful."
Venture capital funding in Canada hit a record high in 2018, with
$3.5 billion USD invested through
more than 471 deals, according to the MoneyTree Canada report by
PwC Canada and CB Insights. Toronto was named North America's fastest growing tech
market by CBRE for the second year in a row in 2018, mainly
due to the city's tech talent employment base growing by the
largest number of workers in 2017 with 28,900 tech jobs
added.
"Building on SVB's longstanding track record of supporting
technology companies in the US, we are excited to help Canada's entrepreneurs grow and scale," said
Barbara Dirks, Head of Canada at Silicon Valley Bank. "Our clients
appreciate the partnership with us and our highly specialized
approach, fast pace, industry expertise and global network."
With approval from the Superintendent of Financial Institutions,
Silicon Valley Bank may immediately commence lending to technology,
life science, private equity and venture capital companies across
Canada from its new base in
Toronto. The bank provides
additional cross-border banking services to Canadian companies that
have or seek a US presence. Please visit svb.com/canada for more
information.
Silicon Valley Bank recently released its inaugural Startup
Outlook report showcasing perspectives from a survey of Canadian
startup founders and executives on business conditions, funding,
exits, hiring, workforce diversity and public policy issues. To
read the report, please visit
svb.com/startup-outlook-report-2019/.
About Silicon Valley Bank
For more than 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
centres around the world. With commercial, international and
private banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of
innovators. Learn more at svb.com.
©2019 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).
Silicon Valley Bank does not accept deposits from the public
in Canada and is not a member of
the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.
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SOURCE Silicon Valley Bank