Latest news with #SVB
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Devina Mehra: Why investing in a bank often takes nerves of steel
To those who ask me why my takiya kalam is 'I am a nervous investor in banks and lenders," here's the answer. My refrain has nothing to do with poor quality bank management or anything of that kind. It's just that the structure of banking differs inherently from that of most other businesses. One, it is in the nature of this business for negative surprises to outnumber positive surprises. The most recent being losses in the currency derivatives of a private sector bank that came to light a couple of months ago, with the result that its share price has halved from its highs even as the Nifty bank index has been doing very well. Also Read: Devina Mehra: Diversified or concentrated portfolio? It's an easy choice Even on the lending side, when bank borrowers do very well, unlike equity investors, lenders do not get any extra income. However, when something goes wrong with a borrower, its lender has to take a hit. So, where can the positive surprises come from? Credit growth? Unfortunately, higher-than-expected growth may not be a good thing at all for banks because problems in a lending book show up only some years later. The financial crisis of 2008-09, for instance, was triggered by a hit on the home mortgage business of US banks where reckless lending resulted in way higher-than-expected defaults. On the other hand, if a bank management remains conservative through a credit boom, it gets penalized for not growing as fast as the competition. As the then CEO of Citigroup Chuck Prince said in the context of the 2008 crisis: 'When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you've got to get up and dance." Two, while many banking crises start with too much poor lending, this is not always the case. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which was tottering at the edge of collapse in early 2024 till it was bailed out by the US Fed, had actually lent out too little. Assets on a bank's balance sheet are not just credit or loans. They also include investments like bonds. In SVB's case, it had channelled most of its deposits into such investments. Also Read: Devina Mehra: Investors must see through gold's glitter as a risk-free investment There was also a considerable asset-liability mismatch (ALM). What this complicated-sounding term means is that while the bank had deposits that were short-term in nature, its assets were long-duration securities. All banks do this to an extent, but in the case of SVB, it was pronounced. The result: it suddenly had losses when interest rates went up and that too in illiquid assets. Three, why do problems on the asset side, whether in lending or investing, go out of hand for banks? This is because a bank is inherently a leveraged institution—it has a balance sheet typically 8 to 10 times that of its equity capital. Simplifying a bit, for every ₹10 of equity put in or retained by equity holders, the bank lends out or buys investments of ₹80-100. Even if ₹5 of the bank's lending goes bad, this is 40-50% of its capital. For similar reasons, a leveraged trading or investment bet can deal a fatal blow to a bank's balance sheet. After all, a single trader took down the 200-plus year-old Barings Bank in 1995. As an outside investor, you never know where problems are hiding in either the credit or trading book of a bank. There is no way to take a really informed bet when investing in a bank. It is mostly a blind wager that the management is doing what it is supposed to. The really interesting part? Banking is the ultimate confidence game. Also Read: Devina Mehra: Forgetting history can be costly, especially so while investing I remember my mother explaining a bank run to me when I was in school (for context, she's a postgraduate in economics): while a bank promises to give you the money you have deposited on demand, in reality no bank can pay back its depositors all at once. The money given by depositors is tied up elsewhere and is not really available with the bank to be returned on the spot. Even the most solid bank in the world will collapse if all or most of its depositors line up at its door asking for their money back. That is why banking regulators move so swiftly anytime there is even a hint of a loss of confidence in a bank. And, as we have seen multiple times in India, when there are rumours of a bank being in trouble, a shotgun marriage in the form of merger is often arranged with a stronger bank. This protects the weak bank's depositors but usually not its shareholders. Further, lessons from history in finance are easily forgotten and institutional memory is notoriously short. As a friend who was working for a major international bank that largely side-stepped the global financial crisis of 2008-09 told me, mostly what saved the bank was the memory of one of the senior management team members who vividly recalled the Asian crisis of a decade ago, when he was barricaded all night in the bank's branch in an Asian capital while people screamed for the heads of bankers outside. That reminded him—and hence the bank—of how bad things could get. Else, risk blindness and failure of imagination are the biggest issues in banking risk management. Ironically, I am writing this at a time when I am probably the most positive I have been—at least in the last three years—on Indian banking stocks as an investment. But this piece is about the framework of banking as a business. Disclosure: I was a banker once upon a time. The author is founder of First Global and author of 'Money, Myths and Mantras: The Ultimate Investment Guide'. Her X handle is @devinamehra
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
HUB Cyber Security Appoints Former PayPal and American Express Executive Paul Parisi as its Global Chief Revenue Officer
Strategic appointment accelerates HUB's North American expansion and institutional go-to-market execution TEL AVIV, Israel, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HUB Cyber Security Ltd. (Nasdaq: HUBC) ('HUB' or the 'Company'), a global leader in zero-trust confidential computing and advanced secured data fabric technology, today announced the appointment of Mr. Paul Parisi as its Global Chief Revenue Officer. This appointment is a decisive step in HUB's long-term strategy to expand across North America, fortify its enterprise presence, and meet rising demand from Fortune 1000 clients, sovereign entities and financial institutions. Mr. Parisi brings to the Company over 25 years of experience leading and scaling commercial organizations in highly regulated, fast-growing sectors. As President of PayPal Canada, he doubled transaction volumes and forged key institutional partnerships. Prior to that, he held senior leadership roles at American Express, including Vice President & General Manager of Global Commercial Payments, where he oversaw enterprise client strategy across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Most recently, he spearheaded Silicon Valley Bank's expansion into Canada, rapidly transforming it into SVB Financial's fastest-growing market. 'The appointment of Mr. Parisi represents a strategic milestone in HUB's North American expansion plan,' said Noah Hershcoviz, CEO of HUB. 'With a track record of scaling institutional platforms at Amex, PayPal, and SVB, Paul brings the operational discipline, regulatory insight, and leadership strength essential to support our next phase of growth. As we deepen our investment in this key market, his expertise will help the Company build a scalable, enterprise-grade business that drives long-term shareholder value.' Mr. Parisi will lead HUB's global revenue strategy, with a sharp focus on North America. His priorities will include establishing enterprise sales frameworks, expanding compliance-aligned partner ecosystems, and scaling customer success infrastructure to support HUB's growing pipeline. About HUB Cyber Security Ltd. (Nasdaq: HUBC) HUB Cyber Security Ltd. ('HUB' or the 'Company') was established in 2017 by veterans of the elite intelligence units of the Israeli Defense Forces. The Company is a global leader in secured data infrastructure and confidential computing. Its Secured Data Fabric platform powers secure AI operations, compliance automation, and digital asset protection for financial institutions, governments, and regulated enterprises. HUB also specializes in unique cyber security solutions protecting sensitive commercial and government information. The Company debuted an advanced encrypted computing solution to prevent hostile intrusions at the hardware level while introducing a novel set of data theft prevention solutions. HUB operates in over 30 countries and provides innovative cybersecurity computing appliances and a wide range of cybersecurity services worldwide. Hub's Secured Data Fabric is a revolutionary product developed in partnership with its subsidiary, BlackSwan Technologies, that is emerging as a leader in highly secure data management and unification. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as 'plan,' 'believe,' 'expect,' 'anticipate,' 'intend,' 'outlook,' 'estimate,' 'future,' 'forecast,' 'project,' 'continue,' 'could,' 'may,' 'might,' 'possible,' 'potential,' 'predict,' 'seem,' 'should,' 'will,' 'would' and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of HUB, as applicable, and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed and identified in public filings made with the SEC by HUB and the following: (i) significant uncertainty regarding the adequacy of HUB's liquidity and capital resources and its ability to repay its obligations as they become due; (ii) the war between Israel and Hamas commenced in October 2023, which may harm Israel's economy and HUB's business; (iii) expectations regarding HUB's strategies and future financial performance, including its future business plans or objectives, prospective performance and opportunities and competitors, revenues, products and services, pricing, operating expenses, market trends, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and HUB's ability to invest in growth initiatives and pursue acquisition opportunities; (iv) the outcome of any legal or regulatory proceedings against HUB in connection with our previously announced internal investigation or otherwise; (v) the ability to cure and meet stock exchange continued listing standards and remain listed on the Nasdaq; (vi) competition, the ability of HUB to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; (vii) limited liquidity and trading of HUB's securities; (viii) geopolitical risk, including military action and related sanctions, and changes in applicable laws or regulations; (ix) the possibility that HUB may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (x) other risks and uncertainties set forth in the sections entitled 'Risk Factors' and 'Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements' in HUB's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed on May 1, 2025. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made by the management of HUB prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the business combination or other matters addressed in this press release and attributable to HUB or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in the press release. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, HUB undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investor Relations Lytham PartnersBen Shamsian646-829-9701shamsian@ in to access your portfolio
Finextra
06-06-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Circle shares soar on Nyse debut
Shares in stablecoin issuer Circle soared by more than 150% on its New York Stock Exchange debut. 0 Circle's price jumped from its $31 IPO pricing to close to $100 before settling back to around $80 by 3:00pm EST on Thursday, up around 160%. The company, which issues the world's second largest stablecoin, USDC, raised $1.1 billion at a $6.9 billion valuation through the sale of 34 million shares. Circle has benefited from the increasingly favourable regulatory regime under President Trump's administration. A recent report from Citi predicted that the total outstanding supply of stablecoins could grow from $230 billion to anything from $1.6 trillion to $3.7 trillion by 2030. It's a remarkable turnaround for the company, which has survived numerous challenges, including the SVB crisis and collapse of Silvergate, which almost broke the company. A previous attempt at going public via a Spac merger fell apart in 2022 due to numerous regulatory challenges.
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
HSBC plans venture debt fund for Indian startups
Mumbai: Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBC), Europe's largest bank by assets, is contemplating launching a venture debt fund in India in what could be an extension of its fledgling loans business for startups, according to two persons directly aware of the matter. The plans, whenever they fruitify and if the regulator gives a go ahead, would make HSBC the first commercial bank to float a venture debt fund for startups in India. The exact timeline, the size, and the structure of the fund are yet to be firmed up, the sources said. "We hope that we can get it up and running in the next six months though no timeline has been set," one of them said. "The plans are still at an early stage and no targets have been set as yet, but it will complement the bank's existing startup financing business." A spokesperson for the London-based bank declined to comment. A venture debt fund enables startups to raise funds without diluting equity, often at a cheap price in early stages. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans are still private. A top industry official pointed out that HSBC is already offering venture lending although it does not have a specific venture debt fund yet. "They (HSBC) have been trying to do something for some time," the official said. The bank launched the venture debt business last year after it hired former Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) executive Pete Scott. HSBC took over the UK operations of SVB for a token amount of £1 in a fire sale led by the UK government and central bank to protect UK tech firms after the US bank collapsed in March 2023. It was the second-largest bank failure in US history with total assets of $209 billion, according to S&P Global. The proposed fund in India would be an extension of HSBC's startup banking practice that began in the country three years ago. In three years, it has allocated $600 million for various banking products tailored to the working capital needs of startups.
New York Post
03-06-2025
- General
- New York Post
Former Ukrainian DJ and his erotic novel-writing wife linked to ‘Russian Pearl Harbor' that wiped out aircraft
Russia has launched a massive manhunt for a former DJ and his erotic novelist wife after they were linked to Ukraine's stunning 'Russian Pearl Harbor' attack on its airbases. Ukraine's surprise attack — dubbed 'Operation Spider Web' — managed to wipe out and damage dozens of the Kremlin's nuclear bombers and other aircraft after explosive-laden drones were stashed in a slew of trucks that were then driven onto the airbases. Russia is now hunting Artem Timofeev — a 37-year-old former Ukrainian DJ who they say owns the truck company. Advertisement 4 Timofeev, a former DJ, and Ekaterina 'Katya' Timofeeva, his erotic novelist wife, were linked to Ukraine's stunning 'Russian Pearl Harbor' attack on its airbases. Social media/east2west news His 34-year-old wife, Ekaterina 'Katya' Timofeeva — who moonlights as an erotic writer — is believed to have aided him, Russian media outlets reported. 'Artem is now wanted in connection with a terrorist attack in Irkutsk region,' Readovka reported. 'Four lorries were registered in his name, and one of them was the source of the drones that launched [in an attack on a Putin airbase].' His wife, who penned a sex book titled 'I Became Bad While You Loved Me,' hasn't been online in two weeks and has since scrubbed her usually active social media accounts, according to reports. Advertisement Timofeev was apparently last seen at the couple's apartment in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk roughly a week ago. The couple reportedly grew up in Ukraine but later moved to Russia, though it wasn't clear when. Timofeev is said to have set up his trucking business in December last year. Advertisement 4 Ukraine's surprise attack wiped out and damaged dozens of Russia's nuclear bombers and other aircraft. SVB_OTP/e2w 4 'Operation Spider Web' was pulled off by Ukrainian spied who hid attack drones inside the roofs of sheds that were loaded onto the trucks. east2west news Prior to re-locating, Timofeev reportedly co-owned a clothing brand and was a DJ in Kyiv. The couple is believed to have fled in the wake of the latest attacks, local media reported. Advertisement Ukraine's secret service pulled off the strikes, which were quickly dubbed 'the Russian Pearl Harbor,' by hiding attack drones inside the roofs of sheds that were loaded onto the trucks. After the trucks were driven onto various air bases, the roof panels of the sheds were lifted off by a remotely activated device — allowing the 117 drones to fly out and make their devastating attacks, Ukrainian authorities said. 4 Timofeev and his wife are believed to have fled in the wake of 'the Russian Pearl Harbor.' Social media/east2west news The dramatic and carefully planned assault took Russian President Vladimir Putin and his forces by surprise. Roughly 34% of Russia's Tu-95 bomber fleet, equipped to carry nuclear payloads, was wiped out in the raids on five air bases across the country, Ukrainian forces said. A total of 41 Russian warplanes were also hit in the strikes, causing an eye-watering $7 billion in damage. With Post wires
