HSBC Buys SVB UK Branch for £1

HSBC has bought the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank for a symbolic one pound on Monday, rescuing a key lender for technology start-ups in Britain.

This follows the biggest bank collapse since the financial crash continues to roil markets.

The deal, which sees one of the world’s biggest banks, with $2.9 trillion of assets, take the British arm of the tech lender under its wing, brought to am end,  weekend talks between the government, regulators, and prospective buyers.

The rescue of SVB UK was welcomed by British government ministers, regulators and technology start-ups, who said customers would be able to bank as normal.

“HSBC is Europe’s largest bank, and SVB UK customers should feel reassured by the strength, safety and security that brings them,” Britain’s finance minister Jeremy Hunt said.

“We were faced with a situation where we could have seen some of our most important companies – our most strategic companies – wiped out, and that would have been extremely dangerous,” Hunt said.

Silicon Valley Bank faced a financial crisis that led to its shutdown in the US, causing a huge loss of confidence in the banking sector especially among tech start ups and small/medium enterprises.

The US government has set up strategies to rebuild confidence in its banking system.

SVB serves a huge community of tech businesses globally.

Reuters/Hauwa Abu