The Dutch biotech company Pharming has a total of $ 45 million in the account of the bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank. The amount is about a quarter of all cash that the Leiden company has. Due to the uncertain situation, Pharming does not know how much money it will see back from those 45 million and when.
Pharming’s assets were held in accounts with Silicon Valley Bank and its British branch SVB UK. The American accounts had $ 26 million, the British $ 19 million. Different insured amounts apply to both accounts. Pharming is sure of the American bill that it will get back $ 250,000. For the British account, it is more than $ 100,000.
It is not yet clear whether Pharming can recover more money or even all of its credits. That depends on any arrangements made by the US and UK governments. SVB could also be sold to another bank.
The American regulator FDIC has already announced that it will pay account holders with uninsured assets a percentage of their properties. That would happen next week.
The American newspaper The Washington Post reports that the US government would like to insure all assets if a buyer is not found. According to Janet Yellen, Minister of Finance, a rescue of SVB itself is out of the question.
The British government has indicated that it will provide emergency support for start-ups that have lost their money due to the bankruptcy. This should allow them to continue to pay wages and other ongoing costs. Further details are expected on Monday.
On Friday, the SVB was closed by the authorities in the US state of California. It had failed to raise money through the issue of new shares. As a result, the bank could no longer meet its obligations and went bankrupt. The federal public service FDIC has been appointed as administrator.
At the end of 2022, SVB managed over USD 175 billion in assets. This made it the sixteenth-largest bank in the United States.
