HSBC Buys UK Arm of Silicon Valley Bank

By Joe Hoppe

HSBC Holdings PLC said Monday that it has purchased Silicon Valley Bank UK Ltd., the U.K. arm of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, for 1 pound ($1.20).

The banking giant and the U.K. Treasury said all depositors' money with SVBUK is safe and secure and that all operations will continue as normal.

HSBC said the acquisition will help strengthen its franchise in the U.K.

As of March 10, SVBUK had loans of around GBP5.5 billion and deposits of around GBP6.7 billion, while tangible equity is expected to be around GBP1.4 billion.

The acquisition was completed immediately.

The Bank of England said it took the decision to sell SVBUK to stabilize the business, ensure continuity of banking services, minimize disruption to the country's technology sector and support confidence in the financial system.

On Friday, SVBUK parent Silicon Valley Bank was shut down after being hit by a run on its deposits, becoming the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Later that day, the BoE had said it plans to put SVBUK into insolvency procedure on Sunday, barring any developments.

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 13, 2023 03:33 ET (07:33 GMT)

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