Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - An SVB Employee Pulls Back the Curtain

Episode Date: March 16, 2023

Right now, a lot of people are turning to industry insiders for answers on SVB’s crash, but the people who we really should be listening to now, are the SVB insiders, the employees. So today’s guest is a SVB employee— or, was, until the bank dissolved. She shares what it felt like to be inside the company as it fell apart, what questions she still has, and a perspective on SVB we didn't expect.

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money is working as hard as you do. So why overcomplicate your money? Keep it simple with Bank of America, your one-stop shop for everything you need today and the goals you're working toward tomorrow. To get started, visit bofa.com slash newprosmedia. That's b-o-f-a dot com slash n-e-w pros p-r-o-s media. bfa.com slash newprosmedia. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. It's time for some money rehab. In my ongoing coverage of the Silicon Valley crash, I had a listener reach out to me who actually worked at Silicon Valley Bank and witnessed the downfall from the inside. This listener and I have been in very close touch over the last week as things were falling

apart. And she has been sending me questions about deciphering the information she's been getting from the company and what it means for her. And together, we've been trying to piece together the picture of what will happen next for the employees at the bank. Right now, a lot of people are turning to industry insiders for answers on SVB's crash. But the people who we really should be listening to now are the SVB insiders, the employees. So today's guest is an SVB employee, or was until the bank dissolved. I cannot thank her enough for taking the time during this chaotic moment to share with us. In the edit, by the way, we had to cut out some details that she shared with us about her life and background to protect her anonymity.

But I really wish you could hear everything because I got to tell you, this listener is literally superwoman. Anyway, enough preamble. Here she is. You are amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time out to chat with me during this crazy time. Of course. Thank you for having me. I want to understand how it felt for you inside SVB as everything was crumbling. Like, when did you first feel as if there was something off? So the infamous Zoom shareholder meeting that happened right before everything, it's kind of funny because all the financial stuff that I know I've learned from you. And so a lot of the things they were saying, and I'm like, I don't know what any of this means. So I actually was messaging one of my friends was like,

too long, didn't read what's what's the synopsis here? Like, I don't, I don't know what he's talking about. And so we were kind of just joking about that. And then we get this email, like, and then we get this email like effective immediately uh nobody comes in to offices Friday morning we're like they just made a huge big deal about us making sure we come in you know they wanted us to collaborate so it's weird like why would you all of a sudden tell us to not come in that you know we were supposed to be coming in more because that's really all it said was effective immediately do not come in unless you're essential. Um, so we kind of didn't know what was going on. And then we just got some generic emails like, Hey, I know everybody has a lot of questions. I'm like, what do I have questions about?

I don't even know what I have questions about. So, um, it took a little while, I think, to get the communications going. Cause I'm not sure that we all understood what was happening. Um, as of like 11 something in the morning on Friday. It just kind of took us all by complete surprise. And I really didn't even know what it meant. I really had to kind of Google it and kind of see because it just didn't make sense. Like, how does this happen? What do you mean? So before last week, nothing was suspicious or nothing was weird. It was just business as usual.

I just got a raise. I had my review and, you know, I got a raise. I got a bonus. And, you know, they were apologizing that it's not like as robust as it's been in prior years. But, you know, they still were, you've earned this and you did a great job in 2022 and blah, blah, blah. Cause like we got our bonus, the U S based people got our bonuses Friday morning. I mean, that's how I think there was a couple articles about that. So it was very shocking. Like how do we all get these big fat bonuses, but our bank went under, it was kind of crazy.

That is crazy. The bonus went through like a Hager bank account. Friday morning. Yeah. All right. So can you take me through some of the events last week? You mentioned the infamous now Zoom. But from your perspective, like how often were you updated? How much were you scanning the headlines like everyone else trying to understand what was going on? What were those days like? So we did get a couple of very HR friendly emails, like saying some, but not really to the level that I would understand, like what's happening? What does that mean? I think it's all very fluid still at this point. Not, I think things

have changed so much. I mean, Friday or maybe it was Saturday, there's been a couple of emails that they had said we were going to be 45 days of employment. We're going to get one and a half times our pay and that's it. And then we got an email yesterday saying, just kidding. You know, everything, you know, everybody's benefits and pay are going to be as normal because now we're this bridge situation. Things are just changing like hour to hour because we were prepared for we better start updating our resumes. And we had a team meeting today and they're like, well, this bridge thing can last a couple of years, actually. So we don't really everything is still very, very fluid.

And there's a lot of people who are who are leaving. They're just afraid of not having a job. Did you update your resume? I haven't actually. I worked until about midnight on Friday. I jumped on Saturday afternoon, evening and worked until about midnight. And then Sunday was a 14 hour day. So I really didn't have time to. And then I also kind of like, I like my job. I don't want to leave. I like the people I work with.

I like the programs that we have. I like the things that we support and stand for. So I don't want to have to leave. And I really haven't had time to update my resume. But you want to stay? Yeah, I do. I'd love to stay. I love my team.

I love what I'm doing. And really just even just the employee resource groups. I really believe in it. And really just even just the employee resource groups, I really believe in it. And they really have a good culture. It is a great place to work. I've been very happy. Some of the correspondence that came in that you shared, I mean, I was like, mostly taken aback by the exclamation point when it said more employment information coming soon, exclamation point from the office of the CEO. I was like, I don't think this exclamation point belongs here in this update. How did you take the correspondence?

Even just the video that one of the CEOs had put out, I could tell they were very upset and very concerned and everything that I've gotten from my management from from leadership is, is they are really worried about the people. They've really been like, we're doing the best we're trying to get information. I think they're going to try to start doing like daily meetings just for any updates that you can join voluntarily. If there's anything new or if you have questions, they've really tried to stand up a lot of things and made resources available. So yeah, it was kind of like, well, yeah, more will be available soon, but like when, and I know that they can't always say, um, cause a lot of people are very concerned and very worried. Um, I think it, it really didn't hit me until Friday when we got an email with mental health, like suicide awareness type resources that they got

put out when it really kind of hit me how serious the whole situation was. Wow. Do you know if your health insurance is still active? So I didn't know until, was it yesterday? Yeah, it was yesterday when I got the email saying that we're not going to, it's not 45 days of employment and one and a half times pay anymore. That same email had stated your benefits are still in place because as of Friday morning, we just kept saying, we don't know. We don't know. They don't know. And I was like, I need a letter.

Like we, I have kids on my insurance. We kind of need insurance. Everybody's got braces and glasses. And so I kind of need to know what's going on here. And we really weren't for sure until yesterday. So as of now, do you know who your paychecks are going to be coming from? I think it's Silicon Valley Bridge Bank or Bank Bridge or something. So we just got a communication. I'm salary. I've never had to account for my hours before, but now they're wanting us to go into workday and account for any hours. So I don't

know if it's a new system or what or how they're calculating it now. We're actually supposed to get paid this week. So I guess we'll kind of see. Do you feel like if you have a moment to poke your head up above water that you'll look at answering those recruiting calls or update your resume because of this unstable situation? Or do you now have a sense of relief? I have heard from other management sources, they have said, look, you have to take care of you and your family, you have to do what's best for you guys. However, they're also saying, like, we don't know if we're going to be able to incentivize staying through whatever comes because I guess we're still not sure if we're even being bought

or what and how long this bridge thing lasts, who they're keeping, who they're not sure if we're even being bought or what and how long this bridge thing lasts who they're keeping who they're not because we haven't even at least I haven't seen any like essential personnel type documentation to see if I would even still have a job so the last thing we heard was no longer 45 days so I think I will see what's out there but I I also, like I said, I like my team. I like my manager. I don't want to jump ship. I don't have to, I'd like to support and be there and get us through it. But if I have indications, I mean, I have done the, one of the major breadwinners in my family. I have kids in college. I can't just, and I'm paying for it in cash, not going into debt. So like, I, I'm trying really hard to make sure I'm doing what's best for my family. So I'm not going into debt. Good girl. So like I'm trying really hard to make

sure I'm doing what's best for my family. So I'm going to try and stick it out. I do have loyalty, but I also do need to take care of my family. Are you tied to SVB in other ways besides your employment? Like do you have a bank account there? Do you have stock options, retirement account? So I do have a Vanguard 401k, but I mean, just, I think like any place you leave, you'll be able to roll that over. Right. But apparently it was frozen last time I heard yesterday that you can't withdraw from it, which is fine. I haven't been there very long, so there's not a ton in there, but I literally just started doing the employee stock purchase program. I've got like $126 in there. Something

like some very minuscule. So I'm tied to it in that amount. And that's about it right now. I know a lot of people who've been there, especially several years, do have a lot of SVB stock. Not great. Yeah. So how do you feel SVB handled the communications Yeah. So how do you feel SVB handled the communications with you and your colleagues? So I know that it was very important to them that the right audiences saw the right information by a certain time. So I worked so long on on these extra days, because we were trying to create like distribution lists that had the right people based on who they were, what because, you know, list that had the right people based on who they were, what, because, you know, the different portions of SBB have been, you know, one, our UK stuff got sold to HSBC, I believe. And so we wanted to make sure that the right people got the right communications. So they weren't confused

because you don't want to send them something that doesn't pertain to them. And then they'll just have more questions. So I know just from my perspective, where I was sitting, trying to help with communications, trying to make sure everyone had the right, you know, names on the distribution list that they weren't open to everybody. So a disgruntled employee couldn't send to everybody, they were very concerned about getting the right information to the right people as fast as they could. I know that they've been really trying to trying to get the information pushed out as they get it. So and that's part of what I liked about SBB is everybody really, it's all about they worry about your

family. Like I really just from my my limited experience in the last year and a half, I've really seen how they they do seem to really care about us. And maybe other teams feel differently. But where I've been, they've really been great. And I've had a couple different managers. So it's, I think it's really part of their culture. They've really tried. Some of the stuff doesn't always land. But I don't know if that's my perception of like the exclamation point. Maybe it's just our perception. Maybe they were just trying to be like, well, we promise we're getting it. Maybe they were excited and passionate and it just landed weird. I don't know. But I do. I do know that they're really trying to get the information out as they get it. If you could talk to SVB leadership and give them

feedback for this last week, what would you say? It's hard because I know that it doesn't seem like everybody knows everything. I would have liked more information, but I don't even know if there is more information because things have changed so much. They were on Friday, they were at like noon or something. They said, we're gonna have this information out about your benefits and your pay within two hours.

And it was like five hours later and it still wasn't out, but it's not like they were just withholding. I think they were really trying to work out things. Um, they were really trying to do the best they could. I'm like, I'm trying, I'm cheerleading for them a little bit, but, uh, I really, I've been through mergers and buyouts with other companies. I worked for CenturyLink and they bought out Savvis and things like that. So I've seen it get ugly and, you know, promised one pay rate and giving another and letting people go and just crazy stuff like that. And I really haven't seen that with SVB so far. I think that, you know, the, the zoom call, he was really trying to reassure everyone. And of course, obviously, it didn't land. I don't see anything that I'm like, man, this was just wrong. They really tried

to keep people informed. They really tried to let us know. Our managers were calling us or texting us or having meetings. Directors were calling meetings. And then they've been really encouraging as well. And I think they said our efforts were heroic. And I'm like, yes, fighting, you know, the global economic downturn one SharePoint site at a time. You know, that's what we're doing over here. But it's nice because they're still trying to recognize us, calling people out on calls, appreciating our work and our help and our efforts. So it's kind of it's kind of hard. I don't know if I have anything really negative. I, of course we all want more information. We

hope it, we wish it didn't happen, but I don't, I don't really see from my point of view where there's any like finger pointing that I could do if I wanted to. How are you feeling right now? It's, uh, it's, I'm trying to be optimistic. I'm trying to be positive and trying to be optimistic, but I mean, I'm nervous. I have a lot of responsibilities and I need my insurance. I need my income. You know, these are things that are very important. And I'm, you know, just recently found you like in the last year. So I'm still learning about building an emergency fund and what to do in these types of situations. Cause I never grew up with that. We grew up very much paycheck to paycheck. We grew up, we had some instability in our family and it was let's

pawn our jewelry and have a pizza party and go to a movie, you know, um, and we'll get it back next paycheck. It'll be fine. So it's scary. It's really super scary because I'm finally at a good position in my life. And now I feel like it could all be taken away. Wow. Is it helpful or harmful, do you feel, to keep looking or refreshing the headlines? Do you find it more nerve wracking or do you find more comfort there? For me, I think it's comfort because I don't like the chaos. I don't like the not knowing. I have to understand and I have to, if I don't have control of a situation,

it freaks me out. Right now I don't have control. So I'm really trying to stay positive. I'm trying to stay focused on the task at hand, trying to save what we can and keep things running, keep lights on. But I know, and I'm worried about the people that I work with, you know, I'm worried about a lot of that stuff. And I'm worried about my own household, but I'm really trying to stay positive. Things have been worse. I've made way less money. I should be fine. But it's it is hard to not be super nervous. Well, I think you're doing great. Yes, things have been better. But it's it's a really good perspective to remind yourself and those around you that it's been worse and you've gotten through harder things. If we can take a quick step back to the macro economy, I mean, beyond the company, there are a lot of employees dealing with hard things, difficult hands by their companies, layoffs, pauses in benefits, and so much more during these difficult financial

times. So I think you sharing your experience does give a certain degree of comfort to other listeners who are going through something hard and difficult to know that they're not alone. When you're feeling this stress or uncertainty, what's the best way you get through it? I've had a lot of turmoil in the last few months. So I was like, really, this is one more thing. So I've actually been doing yoga. I really was like, okay, it's weird because I'm not a crier. So I'm not like an emotional crying person. But man, I'll tell you what, I'll go to yoga and I'm like, the lady comes up and like slides

tissues over. Like, it's okay. we did a lot of hip work when you open up your hips it's tied to your emotions I'm like every time but so it's actually like just I think it's because I'm so tense and I'm so go go go when you're like they're like oh get in your thoughts and let go of your tensions and I'm'm like, okay. And it all comes out. Flood gates open. Yeah. I was never really like a,

yes, let's go to yoga person. But this last, you know, year, especially it's really helped with a lot of the stresses I'm having. So, I mean, I took a quick, like it was like a 10 minute restorative yoga break earlier this morning because I've just been going all morning.

I haven't eaten yet today. Oh, I'm right. I had a banana. It's three o'clock and I've had a banana today. Okay, sister. Well, I'm going to let you go and go have a snack, please. You're doing great. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network.

I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Loy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at Money News and TikTok at Money News Network for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you.

Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.