HSBC has bought the embattled UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB UK), securing the deposits of more than 3,000 customers worth £6.7 billion. Confirming a story, the Bank of England, which had been preparing to bring the bank into an insolvency process, said all depositors' money with SVB UK would be safe and secure as a result of the purchase.
All SVB UK services will continue to operate as normal and customers should not notice any changes, a statement said. There were fears that tech companies and start-ups banking with SVB UK would be unable to meet costs, including payroll, as they could not access their money.
"A number of our most promising and important technology and life science companies had their money with Silicon Valley Bank in the UK branch," Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said.
"When you have very young companies, very promising companies, they're also fragile. They need to pay their staff. And they were worried that as of 8:00 this morning, they might literally not be able to access their bank accounts," he said.
"This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK," HSBC said. "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," Noel Quinn, HSBC group chief executive said.
A statement from the Treasury highlighted that no taxpayer money is involved in the sale.