Relaunch for UK branch of Silicon Valley Bank after it was sold to HSBC for £1 in bailout deal
Hopes: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (pictured) hailed the SVB UK relaunch as a ‘really big step forward for the UK’
Jeremy Hunt hailed the relaunch of collapsed technology sector lender SVB UK under a new name as a ‘really big step forward for the UK’.
Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm was sold to HSBC for £1 in a bailout deal that came about over a hectic weekend in March and was overseen by the Treasury and the Bank of England.
The collapse of SVB UK, which followed the demise of US parent company Silicon Valley Bank, threatened to wreak havoc on thousands of British start-ups.
Speaking at the bank’s relaunch at London Tech Week, the Chancellor said: ‘It was actually a very hairy weekend – because we had this precious Ming vase, the ecosystem that SVB was at the heart of.
Perhaps a quarter or maybe even a third of the most promising new companies were at risk. There was a lot at stake.’
Hunt joked to HSBC’s UK boss, Ian Stuart, about the £1 sale: ‘I think you’ve done a really good job, by the way.’
SVB UK will form the basis of HSBC Innovation Banking, a global division also establishing branches in the US, Israel and Hong Kong. Erin Platts, who led SVB UK, will lead the UK arm of HSBC Innovation.