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Friday, May 31, 2019

VC market fact of the day

From the FT on SoftBank's raising of margin loans,
SoftBank has favoured margin loans because even though banks can seize the underlying stock if it falls heavily, they cannot go after any of the borrower’s other assets. This means the loans are not factored into SoftBank’s credit ratings – a concern for the Japanese company, as it already carries junk ratings from Moody’s and S&P.
What does it say about the VC market that the behemoth (the world's second largest VC fund manager struggles to raise $5 bn, when Softbank are planning their second $100 bn fund) is rated junk by the two largest credit rating agencies? Another illustration of a depressing reality - the dynamics of the financial market no longer exercises any disciplining power on the industry and its participants.

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