SILICON VALLEY BANK CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF DEDICATION TO ENTREPRENEURS

Santa Clara, Calif., October 17, 2003 — Silicon Valley Bank, the primary banking subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bancshares (Nasdaq: SIVB), today marked its 20th year providing diversified financial services to companies in the technology, life science and premium wine industries. Founded in 1983, Silicon Valley Bank has supported more than 30,000 entrepreneurial companies on the road to success, including some of the best-known companies in the technology industry. Throughout its history, Silicon Valley Bank has vastly expanded its products and services and now targets companies of any stage or size, including those doing business internationally.

To celebrate the company's anniversary, Silicon Valley Bank is hosting client appreciation parties in every major tech center of the country through its eight regions. The largest event occurred in the California Bay Area on October 7, where 1,000 clients, partners, employees, board members and SVB alumni toasted the growth and commitment Silicon Valley Bank has displayed over the last two decades. The company also celebrated "Meg Brook" and "Sue Butler" Days to honor two employees who have remained with the company since 1983.

"Twenty years of dedication have resulted in inspiring success for Silicon Valley Bank, our clients and our partners. In 20 years, the company has grown from a small, community bank to a diversified, global financial services organization serving a client base that knows no geographic boundaries," said Ken Wilcox, president and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank. "Our workforce, service set and infrastructure are the strongest they've been in our history. Timed with a changing economic climate, I'm optimistic and excited about our prospects for the next 20 years. We're still early in Silicon Valley Bank's history."

Conceived by Bill Biggerstaff and Robert Medearis over a poker game, Silicon Valley Bank was established to provide credit and banking services to Silicon Valley's growing number of startup technology companies. Under the leadership of the first CEO Roger Smith, the company began serving this market at a time when it was overlooked by the financial services industry, which required companies to show assets and profits in order to be considered credit-worthy. Then, and now, Silicon Valley Bank's mission was to help those entrepreneurs succeed through innovation, dedication and intelligent risk-taking.

Today, Silicon Valley Bank is one of the largest, best-performing banks serving the technology industry nationwide. Not limiting itself to the U.S., SVB has established significant international influence through its global network of venture capital relationships and its services built to support and assist its clients' international expansion requirements. Since its founding, the company has effectively navigated through a major banking industry consolidation and is currently ranked in the top two percent of the nation's nearly 8,000 banks.

Silicon Valley Bank has grown and diversified its unique set of financial services to offer a product suite, service style, knowledge base and partner network that are unmatched by any other organization. SVB has continued to augment its offerings to meet the increasingly sophisticated and long-term financial needs of its clients throughout their life cycles, adding private equity, private banking, merger and acquisition, private placement and investment services to complement its commercial banking practice. A tribute to the stability of SVB's business and its superior client service, the company's client count has remained steady at approximately 9,500 since 2000 and its market share has grown.

About Silicon Valley Bank
Silicon Valley Bank provides diversified financial services to emerging growth and mature companies in the technology and life sciences markets, as well as the premium wine industry. Through its focus on specialized markets and extensive knowledge of the people and business issues driving them, Silicon Valley Bank provides a level of service and partnership that measurably impacts its clients' success. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., the company serves more than 9,500 clients across the country through 27 regional offices. More information on the company can be found at www.svb.com.