SVB Is in Hiring Mode to Defend Its Turf a Year After Collapse

Hannah Levitt and Paige Smith, Bloomberg News

Silicon Valley Bank headquarters in Santa Clara, California. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Nearly a year after its collapse, Silicon Valley Bank is back in hiring mode as it seeks to win back business and defend its turf from competitors seeking to make strides with startups and venture capitalists.

The business, now part of Raleigh, North Carolina-based First Citizens BancShares Inc., has added about 200 bankers since it failed last year — and has openings for dozens more, according to President Marc Cadieux.

“So much has been said about folks who have departed and went here or there,” Cadieux said in an interview. “We still have all of the talent we need, and so that from the get-go enabled us to get back out there. There was, in some instances, ‘Meet your new relationship manager’ or things like that, but that was quickly put behind us.”

Silicon Valley Bank has around 1,500 bankers dedicated to the so-called innovation economy, with about 80% staying on through its failure and purchase by First Citizens. As JPMorgan Chase & Co. and others have been working to become the new go-to bank for the industry, Silicon Valley Bank has sought to regain its dominance.

Read more: Silicon Valley Bank Pitches Comeback Story at Vegas Palooza

--With assistance from Lizette Chapman.