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      Silicon Valley Bank

      Acquired by First Citizens Bank

      Engaged Employer

      Silicon Valley Bank reviews

      4.0

      75% would recommend to a friend

      (1,426 total reviews)
      avatar

      Marc Cadieux

      82% approve of CEO

      53% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Silicon Valley Bank has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 1,426 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Silicon Valley Bank employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.7 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      1K reviews
      1.0
      Jul 3, 2014

      Global Services is a place of fear and loathing

      Global operations
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      its a job, the company has an interesting niche

      Cons

      Too numerous to list, but here it goes. Our COO is very smart (knows operational banking backwards and forwards but he has an unfortunate mean streak that everyone is now clued into) however he is making devastating hiring calls within global services. Is it his ego driving it? He has appointed a CIO that has ruined IT--its a company wide joke. Im glad I don't work in the IT department and have to listen to her all the time like my IT colleagues. Total wind bag who fired a really good senior leader for not "transforming" our online banking system. I think he had like two months. Funny thing is everyone that ive talked to who was actually doing work on the online team really thought a huge difference had been made. Oh well, welcome to the new SVB---your FIRED! The COO has appointed a head of global banking operations that almost everyone hates working for. He is a dreamer, talks big and thinks by talking everyone around him will magically make it happen. When things don't go as expected, he blames his team and technology partners. Message to this guy: its not bank of America, you don't have the budget or personnel to bridge the gap of your lack of tactical knowhow. The bottom line is the COO is very good at the details and vision, he doesn't hire well and doesn't understand that he needs inspiring leaders who people respect and want to follow, not leaders who prescribe to "the beatings will continue until morale improves" mantra. Its too late in IT, its to damaged thanks to the depredations of the new CIO. Still time to get the global operations group on track but the window is closing.

      1.0
      Dec 10, 2013

      Great place to learn, bad place to stay.

      Mid level to senior management
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      If your interest is the technology, life science and venture capital space, you can learn a lot here and gain great exposure to these sectors. Ability to learn an interact generally and specifically with these sectors is reason enough to work here. The bank has build up a tremendous amount of traction over the last 20 years, working here opens a lot of doors in these sectors. If you come here to be a 'banker', realize this is not a typical bank in a lot of ways. Their 'Guiding Principles' are a great thing to emulate anywhere you work, they focus on honesty, integrity, ethics, focus on the client.

      Cons

      For a long time I felt SVB was a meritocracy. The group you are in may be very siloed from other groups, but you can distinguish yourself with hard work and a little luck. I got to understand early that certain groups and individuals would be waiting for you to trip up, (and seeing how they could help make that so) but if you don't trip up, you would succeed. It's a bet I think many others would be willing to take. Having decompressed from the culture for a few years I learned two things: 1) having to watch your back is not a normal work environment...it's just not 2) SVB wasn't large enough to be so siloed, that was just a consequence of the culture. Functional groups can actually work together willingly and collaboratively. They should. I can only speak definitively to culture created by Greg Becker and his steering committee, but the meritocracy thing definitively and permanently ends once you are in the top 5-10% of the bank. At that point, up is down, black is white and personal politics drive a remarkable amount of strategy. HR is the executor of senior management's will, and great lengths will be taken to achieve that will. Lastly, you will not find this a place where speaking up is terribly encouraged. Vision comes from on high and nowhere else. Very different from even 5 years ago. Those who don't buy in or feel compelled to question, they do so at their peril.

      2.0
      Oct 14, 2022

      Limited leadership and strategy

      Director
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      pay and benefits are great

      Cons

      This is a company full of managers but no leaders. The bureaucracy of getting things approved (5 levels at minimum, regardless of title) means that nothing meaningful gets done

      Viewing 58 - 60 of 1,426 Reviews
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      ReviewsSilicon Valley Bank reviews

      Glassdoor has 1,635 Silicon Valley Bank reviews submitted anonymously by Silicon Valley Bank employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Silicon Valley Bank is right for you.