Live data from Hacker News

Emergency bridge loan for SVB customers

brex.com

31–40 of 173 posts

Re: Emergency bridge loan for SVB customers

#34

The VCs collectively orchestrated a bank run that destroyed a bank that serviced them for 40 years, when they should have instead cooperatively organized an LTCM-style consortium bailout for it, and helped them raise capital. The selfishness and short-sightedness of VCs never ceases to impress.

I think you massively underestimate how hard it is to coordinate under these kinds of conditions. Plenty of startups are going to be unable to make payroll, which can pierce the corporate veil in CA, it's not a situation where cooperation is the first thought.

Yeah, it's like a stampede in a crowded theater - once the panic sets in everyone's fleeing for the exit and telling everyone else to go too. You could call that coordination, but it's more like once the panic starts it will carry itself out.

Re: Emergency bridge loan for SVB customers

#35
post #5

I wonder how many people got burned by the previous Brex customer firing event would consider using them again, even with the bridge credits?

Yep. If a company with a history of treating their customers well did this it would look positive, but for Brex to do it just looks opportunistic.

Re: Emergency bridge loan for SVB customers

#36
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but the assets of the balance sheet exceed the liabilities by a reasonable percentage. The vast majority of what will be paid out won't be from the FDIC's funds, it will be from those assets.

Those assets cannot plausibly be sold for their currently stated value in the near-term. That's the whole reason SVB got into this mess...

Right but that's why loans make sense. We know the assets are good quality but it will take time to liquidate them. Companies that can't wait for that to happen will benefit from taking a loan to buy themselves time.

Re: Emergency bridge loan for SVB customers

#37

The VCs collectively orchestrated a bank run that destroyed a bank that serviced them for 40 years, when they should have instead cooperatively organized an LTCM-style consortium bailout for it, and helped them raise capital. The selfishness and short-sightedness of VCs never ceases to impress.

I think you massively underestimate how hard it is to coordinate under these kinds of conditions. Plenty of startups are going to be unable to make payroll, which can pierce the corporate veil in CA, it's not a situation where cooperation is the first thought.

If you were interviewing for a mid-level software engineering job you might suggest "that seems like a single point of failure that could result in a big failure, let's think about how we can add redundancy."

Seems like you haven't needed to think about systems design as a VC! "Yeah go to the same place as everyone else I invest in, what could possibly go wrong?!"

Re: Emergency bridge loan for SVB customers

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

97% of deposits in SVB exceeded the FDIC threshold. The question is, by how much on average? The amount of risk here is significant. I think this is a desperate play by a company in a struggling industry.

Word is that 50% of assets already sold by FDIC. Which will allow a large chunk of each account to be unfrozen by Wed so companies can make payroll. FDIC is not fucking around. Hat tip to them. Balance to take 2-3 months. Will require an actual application and paperwork.

> Hat tip to them

Depends on the price they got for those assets.

Post reply on HN