Superintendent of Financial Institutions took further action on the Silicon Valley Bank Canadian Branch
News release - Ottawa -
The Superintendent of Financial Institutions took additional action to protect creditors of the Silicon Valley Bank’s Canadian branch by taking permanent control of its assets. In addition, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice granted a winding up order in respect of the institution.
The winding up order under section 10.1 of the Winding-up and Restructuring Act begins an orderly, court-supervised process to restructure the branch as a result of the newly created, full-service U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) “bridge bank” – Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A. – in a way that best serves the interests of its creditors and will allow operations of the Silicon Valley Bank to continue in Canada.
The process is intended to facilitate an orderly transition of the Canadian branch of Silicon Valley Bank to the FDIC Bridge Bank. PriceWaterhouseCoopers Inc. has been appointed by the court to oversee the transition. As the court order has been granted, OSFI no longer has an active role in the resolution of this matter.
On March 12, the Superintendent took temporary control of the assets held by Silicon Valley Bank’s Canadian branch in Toronto after the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation shut down the bank, which is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and appointed the FDIC as its receiver.
I took this action to affect an orderly transition of the Canadian branch of Silicon Valley Bank to the FDIC bridge bank. I am satisfied that this approach, developed with officials in the United States, is in the best interest of the branch’s creditors.
- Peter Routledge, Superintendent of Financial Institutions
Quick facts
- Silicon Valley Bank’s Canadian business is focused primarily on lending to corporate clients, and as such does not hold any commercial or individual deposits.
- In January 2022, OSFI announced implementation of the globally accepted Basel III banking reforms, which include robust requirements for capital and liquidity adequacy that help protect creditors during adverse events.
- To find out more about what OSFI does when working with institutions please see our video on the Guide to Intervention.