Probably that, plus SVB has a disproportionate number of branches in, well, Silicon Valley. On Zillow right now I see about a dozen homes (not houses) for sale

Probably that, plus SVB has a disproportionate number of branches in, well, Silicon Valley. On Zillow right now I see about a dozen homes (not houses) for sale in Silicon Valley for less than $1M and zero for less than $500k within about a 45 minute commute of Sunnyvale. (excluding empty lots and actual trailer parks, and anything under 750 sq feet—and requiring A/C) Quibble with my filters if you want, but the point is that a person earning these exorbitant SVB comps basically can’t afford to buy a home without spending 2 hrs each day commuting or living in a shoebox with roommates (I guess they could buy that $650k meth house out on the end of Stevens Canyon—-it only needs a little elbow grease: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/17950-Stevens-Canyon-Rd-Cupertino-CA-95014/19632317_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/17950-Stevens-Canyon-Rd-C... ). I would hazard a guess that there are few other banks where back office staff are generally not expected to afford a middle class lifestyle.