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Silicon Valley Bank's collapse could slow clean energy startups

(Context, 17 Mar 2023) Climate startups want to use the Inflation Reduction Act to bootstrap action – but climate lending may need to be broader.

On Monday, U.S. President Biden reassured Americans that the U.S. banking industry was safe following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last Thursday and Signature Bank over the weekend.

Regulators shuttered both banks to contain the damage and invoked rare regulatory authority to ensure that depositors with money at both banks would be paid back in full and able to access their money.

In addition, the Federal Reserve announced an emergency lending program to funnel funding to eligible banks and ensure they meet the needs of all depositors.

SVB’s  $209 billion in assets make it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history and the 16th-largest in the United States.

As the fallout of the collapse of SVB spreads, it has become clear that some of the worst casualties were companies developing solutions for the climate crisis. The bank worked with more than 1,550 technology firms creating solar, hydrogen, and battery storage projects.

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Context, 17 Mar 2023: Silicon Valley Bank's collapse could slow clean energy startups