Hamilton Locke Partner and Head of Finance Zina Edwards was recently interviewed by Lawyers Weekly on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and its implication on the legal industry and Australian market.
Once worth over $200 billion, the collapse is described by some as one of the largest banking failures in the US since the global financial crisis.
Zina spoke to Lawyers Weekly and weighed in on the implications and takeaways of the collapse. She commented,
“A large and sudden collapse like SVB will definitely have an impact on the Australian market — particularly on the already vulnerable tech and start-up industry.
In addition to a general impact on market confidence and an increased focus on risk, SVB’s collapse will have a direct impact on some Australian start-ups [that] utilised SVB as their US transactional bank and potentially US lender.
For many earlier-stage companies, SVB was often one of the only options for US transactional banking products, and their absence may make it harder for new companies to enter the US market until they reach a greater scale”.
Zina also noted,
“Having said this, I am hoping that other banks and funders will step in to fill the gap (assuming there is ultimately no rescue of SVB), and it is great to see that a number of international banks and venture debt funders are stepping in to offer help to companies exposed to SVB here in Australia.”
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