Working at SVB TMT is Paradise

The Early Days

You'll never forget the day the group head called you into his office.  

At the time, you were grinding away as an analyst at UBS in their TMT group.  Having struck out in recruiting at BoA, Citi, Barclays, JPM, and failing to even land interviews at MS, GS, and virtually every "EB" you were initially ecstatic to land an offer at UBS (in their TMT group nonetheless!).  You made it!  Real investment banking at a legitimate BB!  A  swiss bank!  (it did sound pretty cool to tell family and friends that)  

Later, during onboarding you overheard a couple of fellow incoming analysts talking about the latest "Litquidity" post.  Not really aware of it, you got your first introduction to the "fin-meme" world, and dove HEAD-FIRST into the community.  Suddenly you were part of something cool and interesting.  Thousands of people discussing YOUR profession with spicy memes and hot takes.  You followed as many of the fin-meme accounts as you could possibly find.  Soon your insta feed was graduating from fitness sloots and big booty latinas to finance memes.  You had finally "grown up".

However, this enthusiasm started to wane as you started to realize UBS often came up as a sort of catch-all bottom of the barrel joke.  "At least I'm not at UBS" (followed by several thousand likes).  Yikes.  Occasionally, an old classmate at another BB would text you the latest Litquidity story clowning on a UBS social media post.  It just never seemed to end.

It's fine.  You had a job!  College students still flooded your inbox for coffee chats!  There will always be a chance to lateral you told yourself.

You had just started on yet another turn of a De-SPAC marketing deck, when your Group Head (who almost never interacted with you) tapped you on the shoulder.  "Do you have a moment to chat in my office?"   "Yes of course!" you replied as you frantically flipped over your iPhone which was currently cycling through a notable fin-meme account Story.  

"I'd like you to join my team I'm building out at SVB Leerink, I'm resigning next week to join them, and I'd like for you to come along".   He noticed the slight look of confusion on your face.  "Silicon Valley Bank.  It has a growing M&A practice.  I am going to help build out their TMT coverage."  "Oh, absolutely, I would love to join your team!" you reply without really putting much thought into your response. "Great, I'll be in touch with more details, welcome to the team!"

We've got a F*cking Squad now!

You admittedly did not know much about SVB, but let's be honest here, having been often picked last for sports teams in school growing up, it felt DAMN GOOD to have someone as important as your Group Head pick you personally for HIS TEAM.  Suddenly, all the failures during recruiting and the sting of working at UBS didn't really seem to matter anymore.  You had a squad you were a part of.

Besides, after more thought, the name "Silicon Valley Bank" did sound great.  During a recent 100-hour week, you had had quite the moment of self-reflection, realizing that perhaps going the tech route would have been the smarter and more sustainable choice.  But it was too late, the extent of your coding skills was index-matching in excel; and after some late-night research, coding boot camps seemed rather risky.  Joining "Silicon Valley Bank" however might open doors not possible from before.  You began to quickly imagine the VC/startup exit opps that would assuredly come your way.

A quick google deep dive had also turned up the thread "Is SVB Leerink Becoming An EB?" on WSO.  Already discussion about it becoming an EB?  You could not wait to start!

While the work, clients, and stress were more or less the same as during your UBS days, you could now browse your instagram feed without a microaggression from someone making fun of your firm.  The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months.  You had settled nicely into your role as a Silicon Valley banker!

Into Receivership

Fast forward to March 10th, 2023.  You were shocked to hear about the cratering stock price of SVB.  You honestly didn't even follow the stock market (you were a banker after all) let alone did you read the WSJ or Bloomberg with any regularity.  It's not a big deal you figured (plus you tried reading about the structural issues facing the bank deposits, and not being a FIG banker, you had a hard time wrapping your head around the issues).  Probably just some social media fear-mongering.  The advisory practice was strong, and you were a valuable commodity.  Absolute worst-case scenario, you'd be folded into a place like Centerview, Qatalyst, or Evercore.

"Silicon Valley Bank Collapses in Biggest Failure Since 2008" blurted out the Bloomberg headline.   Failure?

This can't be right? you thought.  You were in the middle of 4 live deals.  Certainly, you had no exposure to this right?  Your face started to feel warm.  A couple MDs had already left the office early, and while the work was going along normally between the analysts and associates, there was notable silence from the senior bankers on your deals the past 24 hours.  You opened up a couple articles on the quickly changing situation.

"Silicon Valley Bank, Santa Clara, California, was closed today by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect insured depositors, the FDIC created the Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara (DINB)"

And while there was a brief moment of panicked catastrophizing, you quickly thought back to the moment your Group Head hand selected you for this role.  You had a squad of guys that could back you up.  Who cares about hiring freezes at other firms and layoffs in the tech sector.  You would weather the storm with your teammates.  You would turn out ok.  Working at Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara (DINB) is Paradise.