Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is a U.S. based bank that provides financial services to technology and life science companies, as well as venture capital and private equity firms. During the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, many banks suffered significant losses due to risky investments and over-leveraged positions, but SVB was able to weather the storm relatively well.
However, in 2018, SVB faced a crisis related to its exposure to a single client, a now-defunct blood testing startup called Theranos. Theranos was founded by Elizabeth Holmes, who was later charged with fraud for allegedly misleading investors about the company's technology and capabilities. SVB was one of Theranos' primary lenders, and had provided the company with a $100 million line of credit.
When it became clear that Theranos was in financial trouble and its technology was not as revolutionary as it had claimed, SVB was left with a large loan to a company that was unlikely to repay it. This led to significant losses for SVB, and the bank was forced to write down the value of the loan and take a significant hit to its earnings.
In addition to the financial losses, the Theranos scandal also damaged SVB's reputation, as the bank had been closely associated with the company and had provided financial support despite growing concerns about its practices. However, SVB has since recovered and continues to provide financial services to the technology and life science sectors.