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Exhibit 99.1
Bank Contact: Agency Contact:
ANDREA MCGHEE DAVID GRANDEY
(408) 654-3078 (408) 998-5433
July 6, 2000
SILICON VALLEY BANCSHARES INVESTS
IN NIPPON CREDIT BANK AND PARTNERS WITH SOFTBANK
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. -- Silicon Valley Bancshares, (Nasdaq: SIVB), parent
company of Silicon Valley Bank, announced today it has invested $2.5 million in
the Nippon Credit Bank. This bank, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, was recently
purchased for $951 million by a consortium of financial institutions led by
Softbank and including leasing firm Orix Corporation, Tokio Marine & Fire
Insurance Company, Ltd., Silicon Valley Bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.,
Chase Manhattan Corporation, and UBS AG.
"Silicon Valley Bancshares made this investment as part of its overall
global strategy of building strategic alliances with other financial
institutions around the world focused on emerging technology companies," said
President and Chief Executive Officer John C. Dean. "We are very pleased about
this opportunity to partner with Softbank and Nippon Credit Bank in the creation
of this global alliance."
"We are pleased to have Silicon Valley Bancshares as an investor in Nippon
Credit Bank. One of our goals is to build Nippon Credit Bank into the leading
technology bank in Japan, and we look forward to partnering with Silicon Valley
Bancshares to accomplish that goal," said Softbank President and Chief Executive
Officer Masayoshi Son.
Silicon Valley Bank serves emerging growth and middle-market companies in
targeted niches, focusing on the technology and life sciences industries, while
also identifying and capitalizing on opportunities to serve companies in other
industries whose financial services needs the Bank believes are underserved.
The Bank operates offices throughout the Silicon Valley: Santa Clara, Palo
Alto and Sand Hill, the center of the venture capital community in California.
Other regional offices within California include: Irvine, Los Angeles, Napa
Valley, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Sonoma. Office locations
outside of California include: Phoenix, Arizona; Boulder, Colorado; Atlanta,
Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Portland, Oregon; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Austin, Texas; Dallas, Texas;
Durham, North Carolina; Northern Virginia; and Seattle, Washington.
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