Payments company Wise has “minimal exposure” to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, a spokesperson confirmed on Sunday. This statement comes after SVB was taken over by U.S. regulators, resulting in the largest financial collapse since the 2008 financial crisis.
Wise, the London-based payments company formerly known as Transferwise, confirmed that it did hold a small cash balance in a corporate account with SVB. The company went on to explain, however, that this was a minimal amount.
“We have minimal exposure to SVB via a credit facility they are part of together with six other major banks, and a small cash balance in an operational corporate account,” a spokesperson of the company stated.
The fall of Silicon Valley Bank, which primarily served tech startups, shocked global markets, leading to the fall of banking stocks across the board. In addition, those tech companies that invested heavily with SVB have been left uncertain as to how to pay their staff.
UK finance minister Jeremy Hunt confirmed that he is working with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey to formulate a plan to minimize the damage arising from SVB’s UK arm. This comes after 250 UK tech firm executives signed a letter asking for government intervention.