It’s been just more than nine months since Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and was acquired by First Citizens Bank (Nasdaq: FCNCA). Since that initial tumult it has been business as usual for the SVB team based in the bank’s Portland office.
SVB, now a division of First Citizens Bank, has been in the Portland region for decades. The bank specializes in working with startups and the technology industry, and that has not changed, said Jane Ullman, managing director of SVB and who heads up the downtown Portland office.
“It became clear for SVB on the commercial side that nothing is changing,” under the new owner, she said. “FCB bought SVB because we are additive to what they don’t have as a bank. They are keen — and to date they have proved this in spades — to continue what we have always done.”
For the Portland office, it's the same people in place. It's also the same credit principles, same products and same services that early-stage companies have come to expect from SVB, she said. The Portland team, which has grown to 35 to 40 people, still works out of its office at 308 S.W. First Ave.
We spoke with Ullman on SVB’s Portland activity and her thoughts on the current state of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Here’s part of the conversation:
Ullman’s outlook for 2024:
The last 12 to 18 months have been tough for startups trying to raise money, and Ullman sees that continuing for the first half of this year. Because of that, she expects to see some companies truly run out of their cash runway. That will lead to tough decisions on whether a company should continue. However, by the second half of the year she expects that venture capital and private equity investors who have been sitting on their cash on the sidelines will start to invest again. This renewed activity will be driven by investors as the companies that survive become more attractive.
“Investors in early-stage (companies) will be more willing to place bets on companies that got through this tough period,” she said, adding that this will also spur more M&A activity that will in turn loosen up funds for investors to put back into venture and private equity.
Startups in the Portland region have typically been more cash efficient and conservative in spending, she said. That behavior will likely be rewarded.
On what it’s been like to nurture and build relationships since the tumult of March 2023:
The biggest single change Ullman has seen is that clients are now using multiple banks for their needs instead of placing all their money in one institution. She noted this is happening across the board. Diversification, she said, is good for everyone.
“For us, the good side of that is companies that were 100% with others are now also diversifying and putting some of their funds with SVB,” she said. “Fortunately, most clients stayed with us.”
And those that didn’t are finding other institutions aren’t meeting their needs so they are coming back, she added.
On SVB’s commitment to downtown Portland
SVB has been in the Portland market since 1992. Its office was initially in Beaverton near its clients that were predominately hardware companies in the Silicon Forest. In 2016 the bank moved into its current downtown office. The bank wants to be an engaged tenant in downtown and help the city’s rejuvenation, Ullman said. She added that employees come in several days a week, the bank holds client meetings downtown and they are trying to hold any outside events in the downtown and adjacent areas.
