Maritime analytics firm Windward has said it faces little fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the UK and US.
The London-listed company confirmed in a regulatory filing that it has “minimal exposure”.
“The total exposure above the amounts protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Scheme and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the US and UK is in aggregate less than 0.5% of the company’s cash position as at 31 December 2022,” it said.
Windward said it had total cash of $22.2m and remains “well capitalised”.
The company is set to provide investors with an update on its current trading with the issue of full-year results on 30 March 2023.
Windward has risen to prominence in the maritime sector over the past year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The company has been providing significant insight into the impact the war and subsequent sanctions are having on the global tanker markets.
On Monday, HSBC announced that its UK ring-fenced subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank plc, would acquire Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited (SVB UK) for £1 ($1.20).
HSBC Group chief executive Noel Quinn said the acquisition made “excellent strategic sense” for HSBC’s business in the UK.
“It strengthens our commercial banking franchise and enhances our ability to serve innovative and fast-growing firms, including in the technology and life-science sectors, in the UK and internationally,” it said.
The deal to acquire the UK arm of the failed technology lender came after a deal was brokered by the British government and the Bank of England.
The aim of the rescue deal of the UK arm was to save thousands of British tech start-ups and investors from stinging losses.
It is unclear if any other maritime start-ups have any exposure to Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed after a run on the lender that was originally caused by fears over a multibillion-pound shortfall on the US parent company’s balance sheet.
Silicon Valley Bank had invested heavily in US government bonds but the recent rises in interest rates have resulted in a fall in value, at the same time as the bank faced rising demands to return cash to depositors as the tech sector came under pressure.
Late last week, Silicon Valley Bank, a lender to some of the biggest names in the technology world, became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis.
