Eroding Confidence in Banks Has Private Lenders Ready to Pounce

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and turmoil for other regional lenders have opened doors for private credit firms to win lucrative loan deals with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

SVB, swept into Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. receivership last week after a high-speed funding crisis, was a big lender to US startups, venture funds and technology firms. Its demise, amid two other bank failures and a new chapter in the troubled Credit Suisse saga, sparked a crisis of confidence in US regional banks and roiled global capital markets.

Seizing on another setback for banks, private lenders say they already ...