California banking regulators shut down SVB on Friday after taking action against the lender
MUMBAI:
A prominent Indian bank has assured depositors that their money is safe after the collapse of California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) caused confusion and concern over the similarity of their names.
SVC Bank of India (SVC Bank) issued a statement over the weekend, sending text messages to customers in Mumbai in English and the local Marathi language, saying it was not affiliated with the US lender.
“We request our members, customers and other interested parties not to pay attention to unfounded rumors and mischief about similarity in brand names,” SVC said in a statement.
With 198 branches across India, SVC had deposits of $2.23 billion in 2021-22. The statement said SVC has “strong and robust fundamentals”.
Sachin Mane, a branch manager at one of SVC’s branches near Mumbai, told Reuters on Monday that the lender was acting on social media amid rumors about the bank’s financial health.
“There have been a few inquiries from customers, but it’s mostly come from rumors on social media… We wanted to talk before a lot of people started asking or before it became a big deal,” Mane said.
“It’s just a mess.
California bank regulators closed SVB on Friday in an action against the lender, which has $209 billion in assets at the end of 2022, after depositors pulled out $42 billion in one day, leaving it insolvent.
When one Twitter user asked SVC about “bank default rumours,” the Indian lender said, “You’ve got the Twitter handle wrong. We are SVC Bank…one of the leading and strongest co-operative banks in India with a legacy of 116 years. .”
There was no commotion at two SVC branches near Mumbai visited by Reuters on Monday, with account holders carrying out normal banking activities.
One account holder showed Reuters a text message they received from SVC asking them not to believe any rumours.
“SVC Co-operative Bank Ltd. The company has no connection with Silicon Valley Bank in California,” the report said.
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published on a syndicated channel.)
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