Silicon Valley Bank Expands Energy and Resource Innovation Practice

SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the bank of the world's most innovative companies and their investors, today announced the expansion of its Energy and Resource Innovation (ERI) practice with the addition of three new project finance specialists. SVB's ERI team works with hundreds of companies across the US that are designing efficient and sustainable solutions in the energy and resource sectors. Kerri L. Fox, former Head of North American Project Finance for BBVA, has been hired to bolster the group's project finance efforts, effective immediately.

"The energy and resource sectors have seen a resurgence in investor interest in the last few years as technology advancements have been applied to the space," said Matt Maloney, Head of Energy and Resource Innovation at Silicon Valley Bank. "We've been long-time backers of cleantech and energy companies, and we're excited to broaden our scope and grow our project finance portfolio. Kerri brings extensive experience in project finance, and she will be instrumental as we continue to grow our ability to serve the industry's unique financing needs."

Silicon Valley Bank's ERI practice provides financial solutions for companies designing innovative solutions in energy, new transportation, agriculture, food, and industrial sectors, such as Kinestral Technologies, Silver Spring Networks, Beyond Meat, and Impossible Foods. Since 2013, SVB's project finance team has committed more than $800 million of debt to more than 20 project finance transactions, including Bloom Energy, SolarCity, Sunnova, SunPower and Sunrun. The group considers residential, commercial and industrial, and utility-scale projects.

"Silicon Valley Bank helped us grow our business through both corporate and project finance services," said Bob Komin, CFO of Sunrun. "What sets them apart is their people, commerciality, and, most importantly, their understanding of our business. SVB is an instrumental partner in helping us achieve our goals of innovation in solar generation, storage and energy services."

Fox has more than 24 years of experience in project finance, starting her career as a project finance attorney at Milbank Tweed in 1994. She joined Deutsche Bank's project and structured finance group in 1998, and subsequently built and ran Fortis Bank's global export and project finance business in New York, before joining BBVA in 2009. In 2016, she left BBVA to serve as Chief Financial Advisor for Steelhead LNG and joined the board of TerraForm Power during its transition from SunEdison to Brookfield sponsorship. Fox also served on the Board of Alterra Power Corp. from May 2014 until its recent acquisition by Innergex.

In addition to Fox, SVB hired Karin Logan as a Director on its syndications team, and Tai Pimputkar as a Vice President. Logan joined SVB from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, where she focused on project finance execution and syndication. Pimputkar joins SVB from the Royal Bank of Scotland and brings more than 15 years of project finance experience.

About Silicon Valley Bank
For 35 years, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides targeted financial services and expertise through its offices in innovation centers around the world. With commercial, international and private banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of innovators. Learn more at svb.com.

SOURCE Silicon Valley Bank