Silicon Valley Bank UK purchased for £1 by HSBC with plan to protect deposits

LONDON -- Silicon Valley Bank UK is being acquired by HSBC in a £1 deal that will protect deposits, the United Kingdom's chancellor and HSBC said on Monday.

"This morning, the Government and the Bank of England facilitated a private sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK to HSBC," Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said on Twitter. "Deposits will be protected, with no taxpayer support."

The deal for the United Kingdom branch of the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank comes as Washington considers how much help to extend to the U.S. institution, the 16th largest in the country.

After the bank failed on Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department, The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said they would make sure U.S. deposits were paid in full.

HSBC, which is headquartered in London, said in a statement that SVB UK had deposits totalling about £6.7 billion, or about $8 billion. The bank has loans totalling about £5.5 billion and had a pre-tax profit of about £88 billion in 2022.

HSBC Group CEO Noel Quinn said in a statement that the acquisition "makes excellent strategic sense."

"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," Quinn said.

Hunt, the U.K. finance minister, said, "I said yesterday that we would look after our tech sector, and we have worked urgently to deliver that promise."

HSBC said it would update shareholders on the status of the acquisition in May.