London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

HSBC buys Silicon Valley Bank UK for £1 in deal which 'protects customers and taxpayers'

HSBC buys Silicon Valley Bank UK for £1 in deal which 'protects customers and taxpayers'

The bank used by tech companies and start-ups has a balance sheet worth £8.8bn yet was bought by Europe's largest bank for £1.

HSBC has bought the embattled UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB UK), securing the deposits of more than 3,000 customers worth £6.7bn.

Confirming a story broken on Monday by Sky's City editor Mark Kleinman, the Bank of England, which had been preparing to bring the bank into an insolvency process, said all depositors' money with SVB UK was 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.

"Some of them only had bank accounts with Silicon Valley Bank UK. And so for that reason, 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."


HSBC said it bought SVB UK - which has a balance sheet of £8.8bn - for £1.

"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.

Mr Hunt said: "Making use of post-crisis banking reforms, which introduced powers to safely manage the failure of banks, this sale has protected both the customers of SVB UK and taxpayers."

"The UK's tech sector is genuinely world-leading and of huge importance to the British economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs. I said yesterday that we would look after our tech sector, and we have worked urgently to deliver on that promise and find a solution that will provide SVB UK's customers with confidence," Mr Hunt added.

"HSBC is Europe's largest bank, and SVB UK customers should feel reassured by the strength, safety and security that brings them."

The Bank of London, which had been leading a consortium bid for SVB UK, welcomed the fact a buyer had been found but had some criticism of the successful purchaser.

"For many, this will be seen as a missed opportunity to support competition and innovation," chief executive Anthony Watson said.

"It cannot be right that once again the heritage banks that have provided a poor service to UK entrepreneurs over many years benefit from their already dominant, privileged position. Britain needs better."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×