The bank’s stocks plunged by 60 percent on Thursday, March 9, after announcing that it was issuing an additional $2.25 billion of shares to bolster its capital position following a significant loss on its investment portfolio.
The share sale will come in three parts. The first, amounting to $1.25 billion, will be in the form of common stock and will be offered to investors. The second, amounting to $500 million, will be in the form of convertible preferred shares. The last, another $500 million, will go directly to private equity firm General Atlantic.
Silicon Valley Bank noted that it needs this $2.25 billion in additional funding to shore up its balance sheet, as it needs to plug a $1.8 billion hole caused by the sale of a $21 billion loss-making bond portfolio, consisting mostly of United States Treasury Securities. The bank’s portfolio was yielding an annual average 1.79 percent return, far below the current 10-year Treasuries yield of around 3.9 percent.
The massive sale has spooked investors, notably venture capital firms whose portfolio companies do business with Silicon Valley Bank. They are worried that the attempt to raise over $2 billion in capital might not be enough to keep the bank in the green....<<<Read More>>>....