Fallout from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse so far seems to be contained but the bank failure has had some ramifications for businesses with deposits at the financial institution.
Roku was among those impacted, having around 26 percent of its cash and cash equivalents deposited at the bank. Around $487 million of its total $1.9 billion was in limbo before the government stepped in and said that the bank's clients would be able to recover their deposits in full.
News of the collapse initially plunged Roku's stock by as much as 9.2 percent on Monday, but it rebounded after President Joe Biden said the FDIC would protect impacted customers.
"First, all customers who had deposits in these banks can rest assured … they'll be protected and they'll have access to their money as of today," Biden said in a statement. "No losses will be borne by the taxpayers. Instead the money will come from the fees that banks pay into the Deposit Insurance Fund."
Even without the FDIC backing, Roku indicated to Cheddar News from SXSW that it had enough cash on hand to stay afloat.
"So we filed an 8-K and that's really the totality of our public statement right now. In it, we did say that we're confident that we have the cash balances to meet all of our obligations. That's our public statement right now," Julian Mintz, co-head of U.S. brand sales at Roku, said.
In an effort to avoid a potential financial crisis, global banking leader HSBC acquired SVB in the UK in order to protect a swath of British tech companies.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve announced on Monday that it is currently reviewing its own part in overseeing the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and it would have a report by May 1.
Members of Congress have voted to advance a bill meant to address antitrust concerns related to tech giants including Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta. The 'American Innovation and Choice Online Act' is largely seen as one of the best chances for the government to reign in Big Tech's dominance
Seth Schachner, Managing Director StratAmericas; Digital Business Executive joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
The Federal Reserve released its highly-anticipated research weighing the pros and cons of a digital dollar in the U.S. The report comes as economic rivals like china have already piloted their own central bank digital currencies. Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst, The Americas, Oanda, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Verizon and AT&T officially launched their 5G wireless services Wednesday across the U.S. Despite pushback from U.S. airlines and the FAA over safety concerns, the telecom giants rolled out the next generation of wireless cellular technology, with speeds up to 20 times faster than 4G LTE. John Biggs, Editor, Tech Crunch joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Earnings season kicks into high gear this week as big players are on tap to report their Q4 numbers, including Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla. Investors will be watching for key indicators on how the companies are dealing with inflation, Omicron and interest rates. Christine Short, VP of Research, Wall Street Horizon joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Stan Farnsworth, chief marketing officer at PulseForge, joined Cheddar to talk about his company's debut at CES 2022 and how it plans to innovate the sustainable tech manufacturing space. PulseForge is bringing a new approach to industrial thermal processing, which contributes to 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to Farnsworth. "By using 85 percent less energy in the processing of materials through a variety of manufacturing processes, we can make a direct impact in reducing carbon output and reducing carbon footprint associated with manufacturing," he said.
