HSBC Acquires UK Arm of Silicon Valley Bank, Protecting Deposits for Thousands of Startups
HSBC on Monday announced the acquisition of the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank for £1 following a weekend of crisis talks with the Bank of England and government ministers.[0] The High Street lender aims to protect deposits for thousands of startups across the UK.[0]
Noel Quinn, HSBC Group CEO, said in a statement, “This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK. It strengthens our commercial banking franchise and enhances our ability to serve innovative and fast-growing firms, including in the technology and life-science sectors, in the UK and internationally. We welcome SVB UK's customers to HSBC and look forward to helping them grow in the UK and around the world. SVB UK customers can continue to bank as usual, safe in the knowledge that their deposits are backed by the strength, safety and security of HSBC. We warmly welcome SVB UK colleagues to HSBC, we are excited to start working with them.”[1]
According to HSBC, the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank had loans of around £5.5 billion and deposits of around £6.7 billion, with £88 million of full-year profit before tax in 2022. The bank expects SVB UK’s tangible equity to be around £1.4 billion with a final calculation of the gain arising from the acquisition to be provided in due course.[2]
The Bank of England has confirmed that all SVB UK depositors’ money is safe and secure, with customers able to continue to bank as normal and deposits being protected with no taxpayer support.[3] Customers can contact SVB UK through the usual channels and borrowers should make any loan repayments to SVB UK as normal.[4]
Today’s announcement supersedes the Bank of England’s 10 March statement that, absent any meaningful further information, it intended to apply to the Court to place SVB UK into a Bank Insolvency Procedure.[0] Given the emergence of a credible purchaser for SVB UK the Bank has determined that using its resolution powers for stabilising failing banks is appropriate.[5]
Utilizing the banking reforms implemented after the crisis, which gave authorities the ability to properly manage bank failures, this sale has safeguarded both SVB UK customers and taxpayers.[6]
U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said in a statement: “The UK’s tech sector is genuinely world-leading and of huge importance to the British economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.[6]
0. “Statement on Silicon Valley Bank” Bank of England, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2023/march/statement-on-silicon-valley-bank
1. “HSBC acquires Silicon Valley Bank's UK unit for £1” Moneycontrol, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/announcements/hsbc-acquires-silicon-valley-banks-uk-unit-for-1-10240821.html
2. “HSBC acquires SVB UK for £1” City A.M., 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.cityam.com/hsbc-acquires-svb-uk-for-1/
3. “HSBC buys SVB's UK business, ending ‘nightmare' for British tech” CNN, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/13/investing/svb-uk-business-deal-intl-hnk/index.html
4. “HSBC buys failed lender Silicon Valley Bank UK” Daily Mail, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11852965/HSBC-buys-failed-lender-Silicon-Valley-Bank-UK.html
5. “HSBC acquires Silicon Valley Bank UK for £1” Seeking Alpha, 13 Mar. 2023, https://seekingalpha.com/news/3946721-hsbc-acquires-silicon-valley-bank-uk
6. “Government and Bank of England facilitate sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK” GOV.UK, 13 Mar. 2023, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-and-bank-of-england-facilitate-sale-of-silicon-valley-bank-uk
