Silicon Valley Bank UK sold to HSBC

The UK arm of collapsed US lender Silicon Valley Bank has been bought by HSBC after the Government and Bank of England stepped in to “facilitate” a private sale.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed that all customer deposits have been protected under the deal, with no taxpayer cash involved.

It comes after the US government moved to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, with all deposits protected, amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, California-based bank to fail could spread.

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In a statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “The UK’s tech sector is genuinely world-leading and of huge importance to the British economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The UK arm of collapsed US lender Silicon Valley Bank has been bought by HSBC after the Government and Bank of England stepped in to “facilitate” a private sale.The UK arm of collapsed US lender Silicon Valley Bank has been bought by HSBC after the Government and Bank of England stepped in to “facilitate” a private sale.
The UK arm of collapsed US lender Silicon Valley Bank has been bought by HSBC after the Government and Bank of England stepped in to “facilitate” a private sale.

“I said yesterday that we would look after our tech sector, and we have worked urgently to deliver on that promise and find a solution that will provide SVB UK’s customers with confidence.

“Today the Government and the Bank of England have facilitated a private sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK; this ensures customer deposits are protected and can bank as normal, with no taxpayer support. I am pleased we have reached a resolution in such short order.

HSBC is Europe’s largest bank, and SVB UK customers should feel reassured by the strength, safety and security that brings them.”

All deposits are “safe and secure” following the sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK to HSBC, the Bank of England (BofE) said.

In a statement, the BofE said: “The Bank of England (Bank), in consultation with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), HM Treasury (HMT) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has taken the decision to sell Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited (‘SVBUK’), the UK subsidiary of the US bank, to HSBC UK Bank Plc (HSBC). HSBC is authorised and supervised by the PRA and the FCA.

“This action has been taken to stabilise SVBUK, ensuring the continuity of banking services, minimising disruption to the UK technology sector and supporting confidence in the financial system.

“The Bank and HMT can confirm that all depositors’ money with SVBUK is safe and secure as a result of this transaction. SVBUK’s business will continue to be operated normally by SVBUK. All services will continue to operate as normal and customers should not notice any changes.

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“Customers can continue to contact SVBUK through the usual channels and borrowers should make any loan repayments to SVBUK as normal. SVBUK staff remain employed by SVBUK, and SVBUK continues to be a PRA/FCA authorised bank.”

The US government has also taken extraordinary steps to stop a potential banking crisis after the historic failure of Silicon Valley Bank, assuring all depositors at the failed institution that they could access all their money quickly, even as another major bank was shut down.

The announcement came amid fears that the factors that caused the Santa Clara, California-based bank to fail could spread.

Regulators had worked all weekend to try to find a buyer for the bank, which was the second-largest bank failure in history.

Regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had also failed and was being seized on Sunday.

At more than 110 billion US dollars in assets, Signature Bank is the third-largest bank failure in US history.