Silicon Valley Bank's Larry Lopez to Speak at the Asia-Pacific Alternative Investment Investors Summit on April 27

Santa Clara, CA -- April 23, 2001 -- Larry Lopez, managing director of Silicon Valley Bank's International Venture Capital Group, will be a speaker at the Asia-Pacific Alternative Investment Investors Summit. The summit is presented by Resnik Communications and will be held at the Australian Stock Exchange in Sydney, Australia, on April 26-28, 2001.

The summit is targeted to superannuation and pension fund trustees and financial advisors and will provide information on private equity and hedge funds investments. Lopez will be presenting "Getting out with your shirt intact: Constructing a best practice exit strategy." His presentation will address strategic planning of structuring successful exits for private equity and venture capital.

"Many investors are either locked in to one strategy or have no strategy at all," says Lopez. "It is extremely important to identify and maintain all exit options so investor will be sufficiently prepared when a situation arises."

Lopez is responsible for working with foreign venture capitalists, investors and businesses to facilitate foreign technology and life sciences companies interested in expanding into the United States. He is also responsible for the Bank's foreign venture capital activities, which include investments in venture capital funds and direct investment. Lopez is establishing and maintaining relationships with venture capitalists and technology investors in the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel.

About Silicon Valley Bank

Silicon Valley Bank serves emerging growth and middle market companies in targeted niches, focusing on technology and life sciences, while also addressing other specific industries in which it can provide a higher level of service and better manage credit through specialization and focus.

The Bank operates throughout the Silicon Valley: Santa Clara, Palo Alto and Sand Hill, the center of the venture capital community in California. Other regional offices within California include: Irvine, Los Angeles, Napa Valley, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Sonoma. Office locations outside of California include: Phoenix, Arizona; Boulder, Colorado; West Palm Beach, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Durham, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Austin, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Northern Virginia; and Seattle, Washington.

SVB Contact: Andrea McGhee, (408) 654-3078, amcghee@svbank.com.