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In March of 2023, Silicon Valley Bank suddenly collapsed after its sale of long-term US treasury bonds at a hefty loss triggered investor panic and a run on the bank. The collapse has had widespread and catastrophic effects on start-up companies and the technology sector and has led many to speculate that we may be heading toward a banking crisis like that of 2008.  

On this episode, our host Joy Anderson talks with Pablo Freund, Managing Director of Endeavor Ecuador and a long-time friend of Criterion, about the still-unfolding events surrounding the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, how we got here, and how – like any good crisis – we can use this to explore opportunities for change.  

The episode will discuss what it would mean for investors to focus on good equity instead of growth at all costs, the power and potential of 0% loans – widely used in the development landscape – to create both impact and shareholder value, and how we can seize the shifting norms underway within finance to fundamentally change the values that underpin the system and reset markers of success.  

As we like to say at Criterion, we made up the rules of the financial system, so we can change them.

Episode Segments:

• 0:27 – Intro
• 2:10 – Silicon Valley Bank Collapse: An Opportunity for Change?

Relevant Links:

• Criterion Institute website and LinkedIn
• Joy’s LinkedIn
• Pablo Freund’s LinkedIn