London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 09, 2025

Hunt promises help for tech firms after Silicon Valley Bank collapse

Hunt promises help for tech firms after Silicon Valley Bank collapse

The Chancellor warned of a ‘serious risk’ to the technology sector from the bank’s failure
British technology companies face a “serious risk” from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank UK, the Chancellor has warned, as he vowed the Government will do “everything we can” to protect them.

Jeremy Hunt said he had been in talks over the weekend with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, and “we are working at pace on a solution”.

He said the plan would backstop the cashflow needs of firms affected by the implosion of the bank, a lender to “some of our most promising and exciting businesses”.

Labour warned the British start-up industry must not “pay the price” for the bank’s failure and urged the Government to offer more than “warm words” to those affected.

The Bank of England announced on Friday that Silicon Valley Bank UK is set to enter insolvency, following action taken by its parent company in the United States.

While there is no risk to the UK’s financial system as a whole, Mr Hunt said “there is a serious risk to our technology and life sciences sectors, many of whom bank with this bank”.

Speaking on Sunday morning political broadcast shows, he said: “The Prime Minister and I and the Governor of the Bank of England are absolutely determined to do everything we can to protect the future of these very, very important companies.

“We want to find a way that minimises or, if we possibly can, avoids all losses to those incredibly promising companies.

“What we will do is bring forward very quickly a plan to make sure that they can meet their operational cash flow requirements.”

The Chancellor declined to say whether the Government will guarantee 100% of the deposits companies had with the lender or whether it could mean stepping in with taxpayers’ money.

"We cannot let the British start-up community pay the price for this bank failure, because it will be the British economy then that ultimately pays the price"

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves stressed the urgency of the situation, noting that when markets open on Monday many companies will not know whether they can pay staff or suppliers.

She said: “We need tomorrow morning to hear from the Government how they are going to protect them. Whether that is guaranteed, whether that is working with the US government on a rescue for Silicon Valley Bank, there are different answers to this problem.

“We cannot let the British start-up community pay the price for this bank failure, because it will be the British economy then that ultimately pays the price.

“I would urge the Government to do more than offer warm words, but come forward with specific plans.”

In a statement on Sunday morning, the Treasury said it was treating the issue “as a high priority”.

“The Government and the Bank understand the level of concern that this raises for customers of Silicon Valley Bank UK, and especially how it may impact on cash flow positions in the short term,” the statement said.

It added that the Government recognises Silicon Valley Bank UK’s (SVBUK) failure “could have a significant impact on the liquidity of the tech ecosystem”.

While Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has a limited presence in the UK and does not perform functions critical to the financial system, the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) warned its collapse could have a significant impact on tech start-ups.

Coadec executive director Dom Hallas said on Saturday: “We know that there are a large number of start-ups and investors in the ecosystem who have significant exposure to SVBUK and will be very concerned.

“We have been engaging with the UK Government, including Treasury and No 10, about the potential impact and I know that work has been going on overnight on policy options.”

SVBUK said it will be put into insolvency from Sunday evening. It is a subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and was the first location it opened outside the US.

The insolvency announcement came after SVB was put under US government control on Friday afternoon in the biggest failure of a US bank since the 2008 financial crisis.

The Bank of England said the company will stop making payments and accepting deposits.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
×