London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 23, 2025

Analysis: UK businesses mull moving cash after SVB chaos

Analysis: UK businesses mull moving cash after SVB chaos

British banks are seeing a pick-up in enquiries to switch cash between institutions after the collapse of U.S. tech lender Silicon Valley Bank, as contagion fears prompt some depositors to try to figure out the safest harbours for their funds.

One of the country's biggest lenders, Barclays (BARC.L), told Reuters it had seen an increase in enquiries to switch or open business accounts in the past few days. Virgin Money (VMUK.L), Britain's sixth largest bank, said in a statement it had also seen "net business deposit inflows in recent days".

SVB's failure has roiled global markets over the past week, with contagion concerns spreading to Swiss lender Credit Suisse, forcing the country's central bank to shore up its liquidity on Thursday in a move that brought some respite.

The British government and the Bank of England have said the country's banking system is safe, sound and well capitalised, while the UK arm of SVB was rescued by Europe's largest bank HSBC on Monday. That means SVB UK's customer deposits are safe and their loans supported, HSBC's top bosses have said.

But the collapse of the Californian bank has drawn additional scrutiny of the safety of uninsured deposits above an 85,000 pound guarantee granted to licenced banks in Britain, particularly for businesses, as they are more likely to have larger deposits.

Sam Franklin, CEO of recruitment platform Otta, which has around 70 full-time employees, said the crisis had impacted the way smaller startups thought about their finances.

Franklin told Reuters a number of CEOs and startup execs had started researching other banks with which to park cash in addition to SVB UK this week, citing Barclays as a favourite among some.

"We're all going on this learning journey together. We're all looking for banks with great backing, strong brands, and solid track records," he said.

The founder of banking platform Griffin, David Jarvis, said he is in a WhatsApp group of over 200 fintech founders, of which dozens have started the process for opening new bank accounts following the collapse of SVB. He said the people were "mostly looking at the big clearing banks".

Russ Shaw, founder of startup industry body Tech London Advocates, told Reuters he would advise startups to spread their capital between different bank accounts as a matter of course. "I suspect many learned this weekend about the risk of not doing this," he said.


SPREADING MONEY AROUND


Rapid interest rate rises by the Bank of England over the past 15 months had already spurred greater competition among lenders for depositors, with smaller players gaining the upper hand as they were quicker to raise rates on products.

But the collapse of SVB has intensified scrutiny of the business models of all lenders, including specialists with smaller balance sheets to fall back on.

John Cronin, banking analyst at Goodbody, said deposit migration would continue to be a key focus for analysts and investors.

"While the issues that SVB experienced were very much institution-specific, it has raised generalised concerns around the health of bank balance sheets," he said, adding that some specialists may actually be less exposed as they rely mainly on consumer deposits.

"Lots of companies will take the time to think more carefully about how they position themselves financially in the future," said Dom Hallas, executive director at Coadec, an organisation representing UK tech startups. "But I think it's too soon to tell who the winners and losers will be."

Sources at three specialist and online lenders said they had seen inflows of business deposits in the past few days, declining to be named citing the sensitivity of the situation.

Digital banking platform Revolut saw a 5% increase in new sign-ups from businesses, particularly larger companies, last week compared to previous weeks, and a "substantial increase" in overnight balances, a spokesperson said.

The company - which has applied for a banking licence in Britain but is not yet protected by the government's deposit guarantee - said it was not able to share figures for this week.

Revolut's customers in the EU are protected by the euro zone's 100,000 euro guarantee, the spokesperson said.

Several British banks focused on retail products such as consumer savings said they had seen no change in customer behaviour since the collapse of SVB, adding that the vast majority of customer balances sat well below the 85,000 pound government guarantee and were therefore protected.

"We have had no concerns from our customers," a spokesperson for Metro Bank said. "The UK banking system remains safe and continues to operate as normal."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
×