London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

UK Banks "Resilient" Amid Silicon Valley Bank Collapse: British Treasury

UK Banks "Resilient" Amid Silicon Valley Bank Collapse: British Treasury

The UK banking system, one of the largest in the world, "remains strong and resilient," the finance ministry said in a press release, adding the government was meeting with representatives of the technology sector to address their concerns.
The problems of the failed SVB bank were "specific to the firm" and had no "implications for other banks operating in the UK," the British Treasury said Saturday.

The UK banking system, one of the largest in the world, "remains strong and resilient," the finance ministry said in a press release, adding the government was meeting with representatives of the technology sector to address their concerns.

US authorities closed the California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on Friday with the US deposit guarantee agency, the FDIC, taking control.

The bank is expected to reopen on Monday under a new name.

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt spoke to the governor of the Bank of England on Saturday morning regarding Silicon Valley Bank UK, the US bank's UK subsidiary, to ensure that its failure "is managed smoothly, and that any disruption is minimised".

Treasury officials have been speaking to firms affected and held a roundtable with industry representatives on Saturday "to discuss the situation and the worries they face", added the statement.

"The government recognises that tech sector companies are often not cashflow positive as they grow, and that they rely on cash deposits to cover their day-to-day costs," it said.

The bank failed after its customers, mainly from the tech sector, made massive withdrawals, and after its latest attempt to raise new money proved unsuccessful.

Little known to the general public, SVB specialised in financing start-ups and had become the 16th-largest US bank by assets.

Its demise is not only the largest bank failure since Washington Mutual in 2008, but also the second-largest retail bank failure in the US.

The Bank of England said it intended to pursue insolvency with regards to the bank's British subsidiary.

"It was looking inevitable that the dramatic loss of confidence in SVB would also sweep its UK arm into insolvency," said Susannah Streeter of financial firm Hargreaves Lansdown.

"The run on the US bank spooked customers banking with the British subsidiary, despite protestations that it was ring-fenced from its parent," she added.

British television channel Sky News reported that the Bank of London, which launched just two years ago, is among those mulling a bid for the bank's British arm.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×