HSBC Buys Silicon Valley Bank UK for £1

HSBC UK branch, with pedestrian passing by on sidewalk. Photo in black and white, light pink nude background.
Photo Credit: GGD News x Deposit Photos

In a rescue deal, HSBC bought the UK branch of Silicon Valley Bank for a little over $1. The private sale was made on Sunday night, and overseen by the Bank of England. An estimated $7 billion worth of company deposits were saved. Many of Britain’s startups, venture capital funds, and tech companies are protected and can now make payroll.

In the U.S., the Treasury Department has announced a $25 billion funding program for Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The Biden administration and federal regulators are not referring to the program as an official government bailout. The money comes from the Treasury Department’s Exchange Stabilization Fund

In Canada, SVB’s branch is temporarily being controlled by OSFI, a banking regulator interested in taking permanent control of all Canadian assets linked to SVB. While in Germany, BaFin (the country’s financial regulator) announced it was freezing their local SVB unit. HSBC UK’s £1 purchase means the bank has agreed to take on $6.7 billion (£5.5b) in loans and a little over $8 billion (£6.7b) in deposits.  

 The Royal Group, an investment firm backed by a senior Abu Dhabi royal (UAE); had considered purchasing SVB UK’s branch at least two days prior to the final deal with HSBC. As of December 2022, SVB recorded an estimated total of $209 billion in assets and about $175 billion in deposits.  

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