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Not all was quiet on the west suburban front

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This past weekend was one hour shorter than usual. But that still left plenty of time for many local CEOs, tech and biotech workers, entrepreneurs, and private investors to freak out.
 
They were panicked, of course, about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, along with some added worry about the First Republic, which like SVB has a significant Massachusetts presence.
 
And while the immediate crisis was averted even before the Oscar ceremony ended (at least I think it ended, I tuned out at 11 p.m.), everything everywhere all at once was about: Is my money safe?
 
Or for employers: Do we still own our business?
 
Not all was quiet on the west suburban front where a long line of customers stood in the parking lot of SVB’s Wellesley Hills branch Monday looking to close their accounts, even after the federal government said on Sunday it would guarantee all deposits. 
 
As of mid-2022, the Wellesley branch alone had $1.2 billion in deposits, according to the most recent FDIC data. For the most part, the lined-up customers were not tech and biotech entrepreneurs that made up most of the bank’s clientele but former Boston Private customers who became SVB clients through SVB’s acquisition of that bank two years ago, the BBJ’s Greg Ryan reports.
 
But more than half of US tech and life sciences startups banked with SVB. That includes many in our chamber communities. SVB also had its regional office in a 32,000 SF space at 275 Grove Street in Auburndale and, according to reports, 250 local employees.
 
"The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has sent shock waves through our industry, both here in Massachusetts and beyond," MassBio CEO Kendalle Burlin O’Connell in a statement.
 
And the SVB rescue hardly ends the worries, notes the Globe's Aaron Pressman and Jon Chesto: "SVB also supported startups through lending, research, and other promotional activities, in addition to helping the companies raise money from investors."
 
Yesterday our chamber heard from a number of local companies, some looking for referrals, saying they were scrambling to find a new financial home.
 
I also spoke to local bankers who said they spent their weekend reassuring depositors that their money was safe (and by all accounts, it is, our community banks have a very different business model) while fielding calls from potential new customers.
 
Looking to understand if your accounts are covered by insurance?
 
  • The FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Estimator is an online tool that can be used to determine whether your accounts are fully insured at each FDIC bank where your deposits are held. EDIE allows you to input dollar amounts you have on deposit in a bank or use a hypothetical scenario to determine your coverage. Get started here.
 
  • Here's something everyone should know: In addition to FDIC coverage, many Massachusetts community banks also provide added insurance through the Depositors Insurance Fund. With a DIF member bank, the FDIC insures up to $250,000, while the DIF covers all deposits above the FDIC insurance amount. List of DIF banks here. BBJ story here.
 
 
Also worth reading this morning:
 
 
 
 
 
 
$15M Newton tax hike to be decided today
 
The forecast isn’t pretty, but polls in Newton will be open until 8 p.m. tonight to determine three ballot questions that would raise an additional $15 million in taxes for school construction and city services.
 
The Newton Beacon and Fig City News have everything you need to know unless you still also need to know how the chamber feels.
 
No matter what the final results are, Newton was fortunate to have two independent news sites covering the issues behind the overrides. Both depend on our financial contributions. Please consider donating today.
 
Other need to knows
 
  • The high cost of living and severe housing shortage has led to an exodus of workers from Greater Boston to places like New Hampshire and Florida. But the Berkshire Eagle reports on a Massachusetts community that’s also found a way to attract young families priced out of our region.
 
  • The Wellesley Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force, Babson College, and the League of Women Voters of Wellesley are hosting “Bigger Than Racism: Understanding Racialization and Structural Advantage in Wellesley and Beyond,” a Zoom workshop tonight (March 14) at 7 p.m. Details.
 
 
  • The theft of campaign lawn signs is a common complaint across many communities but the recent alleged theft in Wellesley is leading to something rare, an actual court hearing. (Swellesley Report)
 
  • Andrea Santopietro has been selected as the Executive Director of Watertown Cable Access. Santopietro has been part of the WCATV team since being hired as a videographer in 2014.
 
  • If there are any graduating high school seniors in your orbit remind them that the deadline for the chamber’s scholarship program is March 31. Details.
 
Hundreds of preschool programs said to be at risk
 
Massachusetts needs to invest nearly half a billion dollars into extending a pandemic-era early education and child care grant program or risk the closure of hundreds of providers, the Healey administration warned yesterday.
 
Healey is seeking increases in early ed spending as part of her proposed budget, pitching the Commonwealth Cares for Children grant program as a critical tool to stabilize early education and care providers upended by the COVID-19 emergency, reports State House News’ Chris Lisinski
 
Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw said "at least 700 programs" would need to shut down without a continuation of the program, representing about 15,000 slots for children.
 
Families in Middlesex (that includes Newton and Watertown) and Norfolk (Needham and Wellesley) counties pay the third highest childcare prices in the U.S., according to Labor Department data.
 
If you're 20 minutes late to work this week show this to your boss
 
MBTA riders should expect to add 20 minutes to their daily commute due to speed restrictions on the entire Green Line and parts of the Red, Blue, and Orange Lines too.
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“We are telling customers to give themselves about an extra 20 minutes,” MBTA interim GM Jeff Gonneville tells GBH.
 
“We have multiple crews and multiple teams out across the system right now, working that through,” Gonneville said. “Now, it is too soon for us to predict globally when all of these restrictions will be lifted. And there very well will be corrective actions or corrective maintenance we're going to have to do in some areas as we begin to work this thing through.”
 
Before we go: A very big thanks!
Finally, this morning, a great big thanks to everyone who helped make our month-long campaign to collect items for homeless children, women, and men at 25 local shelters and health clinics a success.
 
Over the course of the Love Local Clothing Drive, you helped us collect more than 300 new items of clothing at 30 participating restaurant drop-off spots. 
 
You also contributed $1,609 in cash donations, which our partner at Circle of Hope in Needham will use to purchase their most-needed items on your behalf.
 
On behalf of the chamber’s Dining Collaborative, the chamber team, and Circle of Hope, we are deeply grateful. 
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That’s your need to knows for today – Pi Day -- unless you need a song that can help you memorize the first 100 digits of Pi, a Pi demonstration, or a list of local restaurants where you can order a pizza pie, perhaps a baked pie, or something else to round out this rainy, snowy day.
 
Be back Friday.
 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President
617.244.1688
 
Schedule time with me at https://calendly.com/greg_reibman

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