Silicon Valley Bank, a bank known for funding emerging technology companies, opened a Beverly Hills based division to lend money to film production.

“We think there’s a real opportunity for us,” said Irene Speiser, vp and manager of the entertainment division. “We’re working on our first deal now, which is a U.S. company.”

Speiser, who has 10 years experience in film project financing, joined the Santa Clara, California based bank in November and formally opened the entertainment lending office just recently...

Silicon Valley’s move into entertainment lending is seen as good news for Hollywood’s independent sector because of the disappearance of other sources of capital, notably foreign film financing.

The new division appears to compete with Imperial Bank, which is a leading lender to mid market filmed entertainment and multimedia companies.