Silicon Valley Bank Collapse Incites Construction Loan Chaos in California
The failed bank was also key lender for urgently needed affordable housing projects.
A contractor fills a hole in the street outside a housing redevelopment project completed in 2019 in San Francisco, where the median rent is $3,650 and the median home sells for more than $1.2 million, according to Zillow.
Photographer: Amy Osborne/BloombergSilicon Valley Bank’s collapse has shaken not only the tech startups that power the region’s economy, but also Bay Area nonprofits struggling to build affordable housing in one of the most expensive markets in the US.
The bank, which was shut down by federal regulators this weekend, put more than $2 billion into affordable housing investments and loans in the Bay Area over the past two decades, along with other investments in Massachusetts and Los Angeles. While the federal government promises to protect depositors, affordable-housing developers that relied on the bank for construction loans are in a more uncertain position. The implosion of SVB threatens to create construction delays and disrupt financing deadlines developers must meet to qualify for federal subsidies.