Silicon Valley Bank Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Silicon Valley Bank full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Definitely earns its reputation for being a great place to work: supportive /team-focused culture, excellent benefits, surprisingly philanthropic, and a v.low "douche bag" quotient. Plus, dominates the tech / life science banking sector which seems to grow thru every economic downturn

Cons – The downside to a great culture is that nobody ever leaves. Its amazing how many people have been at the bank 10, 15, 20 years! This had led to a disappointing concentration of "B" players at the middle ranks of the company, which seriously limits the ability of the more promising people to be promoted.

Advice to Senior Management – Don't be afraid to fire a few people. A few bad apples really will spoil the lot.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Silicon Valley Bank as a contractor

Pros – Amazing senior management. Fun, edgy company. Small enough for your accomplishments to be noticed and appreciated. Gives back to the community.

Cons – Headquarters has a stiff environment.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Silicon Valley Bank

Pros – Smart, dedicated employees who are really committed to offering cutting edge banking services to clients. Accountability is an important value.

Cons – The things that work well, they constantly tinker with--many times to their detriment. Management doesn't really listen to those who don't fully drink the Kool-Aid.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop spending so much on internal conferences, and hand out a decent bonus every now and then.

– I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Silicon Valley Bank full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Great opportunities to learn your job

Cons – not much movement or promotions

Advice to Senior Management – support those who are successful in their work

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Silicon Valley Bank as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Everyone is very friendly and willing to help.

Cons – Internship program is not very structured

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Silicon Valley Bank full-time for more than a year

Pros – Know their market. Quick to act.

Cons – Very conservative and very political.

Advice to Senior Management – Promote based on merit...not tenure.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Silicon Valley Bank full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – Excellent competitive salaries, benefits. Clients LOVE this company; good on resume. The Infrastructure, the troops, are what make this company. At exec level, extremely innovative and want to stay ahead of the curve in the market; highly driven. Sales teams and client facing service delivery teams rock, and are the cornerstone of what makes this company vital. Sales leadership is very strong.

Cons – Very poor management and leadership skills below exec level, and a few newer ones at C-level are failing as well. No one is cultivating the incredible talent at all levels; there is no scouting of the rich pool of talent within the bank that needs mentoring and elevating. "home grown" is falling away. Career paths in finance are nil. Finance, IT, Ops and HR have some critical negative political black holes that need removing. Huge amount of confusion which fuels politics, leads to nonproductivity; the company is losing its edge and good people will, and are, leaving.

Advice to Senior Management – Company is transitioning with new CEO who although is an excellent business man (and long time svber) still needs to define his leadership and better clarify his company's strategy/mission down through the troops; should engage with employees to get tough - weed out the politics and the 'good ol boy' environment; some of it is in his own backyard.

Former Employee – worked at Silicon Valley Bank full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – Outstanding benefits
Competitive pay
Good in a niche market
Has done very well in a bad market

Cons – Middle management progressively going from bad to worst

Major down trending of employee moral and management not able or willing to do anything about it

Senior Management team made of good, smart people but are ultimately responsible for trend of employee dissatisfaction

Erratic cost cutting measures. (Catch the bus from the airport to your room at the W)

Bizarre Mom & Pop review process that unnecessarily time consuming and complicated. Does not scale well to large organisations

VERY bloated IT department for the size of the company. Has the mentality of throwing money and outsourcing at the problem

The Bank wants very badly to have the prestige of being one of "the best places to work" but is not willing to focus resource to keep it

As others have mentioned before, favoritism is alive and raging in the company as never before. If you "drink the kool-aid" and swallow your ethics you can really go places

Advice to Senior Management – Bank trying very hard, and spending tons of money to advance it's international footprint. It needs to step back and focus on becoming a lean, mean, well oiled machine by cultivating the culture and technology that made it a great bank. This needed to happen before trying to conquer the world. Not doing so exposes the bank to too much risk. The road to success is littered with the companies that tried grow too fast.

Finally, clean house in IT from the top down. IT is the rudderless cancer that is killing SVB. A cancer that is killing profits and morale in an effort to keep up with the demands of a company growing too fast,

– I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Silicon Valley Bank as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Awesome culture and people. Everyone is an expert in their field and will gladly help each other and explain themselves thoroughly.

Cons – Internship program does not funnel into a full-time job based on performance necessarily. You need to go through the application process.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Silicon Valley Bank as a contractor for less than a year

Pros – The pay at SVB is competitive.

Cons – The management team in IT and the PMO are incompetent, lack management and people skills and play favoritism. The existing processes are broken but they are not open to suggestions or recommendations from employees. I’m so glad to be out of that place because the environment is toxic.

Advice to Senior Management – Please listen to your employees when they bring their concerns in regards to poor management and work environment. The #1 reason people leave their job is due to a BAD boss!

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company