The National Bank announced Aug. 1 an agreement to acquire the commercial loan portfolio of Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) Canadian branch.
The portfolio is comprised of approximately $1 billion CAD in loan commitments, of which some $325 million CAD are outstanding.
Under the terms of the agreement, the National Bank will acquire a portfolio in the Technology, Life Science and Global Fund Banking sectors, further diversifying its commercial loan portfolio across Canada.
The portfolio is comprised of approximately $1 billion CAD in loan commitments, of which some $325 million CAD are outstanding. The assets will be integrated into National Bank’s Technology and Innovation Banking Group, under the leadership of Tuyen Vo, head of this group since 2019.
Michael Denham, executive vice-president and head of commercial and private banking at National Bank, told BetaKit that it represented all of the remaining SVB assets as of today, noting that two weeks ago Inovia Capital announced it will acquire the loans related to Clearco.
The National Bank is currently in discussions with SVB employees.
“With our investment banking, commercial lending and VC teams, we have an extensive footprint and deep talent base. We look to complement this, and will have a targeted approach based on SVB’s capabilities and strategic needs,” Denham said.
Denham said that he couldn’t comment on the price of the acquisition, other than saying that it’s aligned with the National Bank’s strategy.
Denham noted National Bank aims to strategically grow in niches where it has expertise. “In the weeks ahead, we will meet with SVB clients with the goal of moving all of our relationships forward,” Denham said.
Closing is expected in the coming weeks and is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice supervising the proceedings of Silicon Valley Bank under the Winding-up and Restructuring Act.
Canadian regulators moved to wind up SVB Canada’s operations in March after taking over temporary control.
The wind-up was a court order that forced the Canadian branch of SVB into liquidation. The order was approved after The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) took over permanent control of SVB Canada.
OSFI announced in mid-March it was taking temporary control of the assets of the Canadian branch of SVB following the collapse of the financial institution.
Feature image courtesy of Flickr