Small VCs May Struggle to Find New Lenders in Wake of Bank Collapses

Since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Rocky Gor, the founder and CEO of Los Angeles–based loan marketplace Capx, has been approached by a handful of small venture capital firms with a problem: No one will lend to them.

In the past, these VC firms relied on a specialized credit line offered by SVB and a handful of other banks, including First Republic Bank, that plugged the gap between when the investors, or limited partners, commit capital to VC funds and when that cash actually arrives. But the collapse of both SVB and First Republic is expected to make these loans harder to get. Big banks—such as JPMorgan Chase, which took over First Republic’s business—are wary of extending these loans, known as capital call credit lines, to the small VC firms that need them most but are seen as riskier bets.