History & Timeline

Silicon Valley Bank has been instrumental in the technology, life science and premium winery industries for nearly 30 years. We're proud of our accomplishments, building a global financial services company with the entrepreneur in mind, from an inspired idea among friends at a poker game. We're looking forward to the future and are optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead for our clients, the industries we serve, and for our company.

1982

• Incorporated on April 23, 1982

1983

• Bill Biggerstaff, Robert Medearis and CEO Roger Smith opened 1st office in San Jose, CA

1984

• Shares began trading OTC

1985

• Opened Palo Alto, CA regional office

1986

• Merged with National InterCity Bancorp
• Opened office in Santa Clara, CA

1987

• Shares began trading on Nasdaq under the symbol SIVB

1988

• Opened offices in Palo Alto and San Jose, CA
• Completed IPO and raised $6 million in equity capital

1989

• Opened office on Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, to serve the venture capital community

1990

• Opened offices in Wellesley, MA, and Newport Beach, CA

1991

• Formed Pacific Rim Group and Trade Finance Group
• Opened office in Beaverton, OR

1993

• Named John Dean President and CEO

1994

• Established Premium Wine practice

1995

• Named Daniel Kelleher Chairman of the Board
• Opened San Diego, CA office

1996

• Opened new offices: Rockville, MD, Beverly Hills, CA, Austin, TX, Bellevue, WA, and Boulder, CO

1997

• Opened offices in Atlanta, GA, Philadelphia, PA, and Phoenix, AZ

1998

• Opened new offices in Los Angeles, CA, and Rosemont, IL

1999

• Opened new offices: San Francisco, CA, Sonoma, CA, Minneapolis, MN, and Dallas, TX
• Named Ken Wilcox President of Silicon Valley Bank
• Harry Kellogg became Vice Chairman of Silicon Valley Bank

2000

• Opened new offices: West Palm Beach, FL, Durham, NC, and a second San Francisco office

2001

• Named John Dean Chairman of the Board of Silicon Valley Bancshares
• Named Ken Wilcox CEO and President of Silicon Valley Bancshares and Silicon Valley Bank
• Opened new office in New York and Fremont, CA

2002

• Launched SVB Securities, a broker-dealer subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank
• Focused strategy to specialize in technology, life science, venture capital and premium winery niches

2003

• Named Alex "Pete" Hart Chairman of the Board

2004

• Opened international subsidiaries in the UK and India

2005

• Silicon Valley Bank holding company Silicon Valley Bancshares renamed SVB Financial Group
• Opened international subsidiary in China

2006

• Launched SVB Analytics

2007

• Closed first international fund, SVB India Capital Partners fund

2008

• Opened international subsidiary in Israel
• Named Greg Becker president of Silicon Valley Bank

2010

• Named Greg Becker president of SVB Financial Group and Silicon Valley Bank

2011

• Named Greg Becker president and CEO of SVB Financial Group and Silicon Valley Bank
• Ken Wilcox became Chairman of Silicon Valley Bank and transitioned to China

2012

• Named Roger Dunbar Chairman of the Board
• Opened first international, full service branch in London