The U.K. arm of Silicon Valley Bank has been sold to HSBC for £1 ($1.20), the British government announced Monday, in a deal designed to stop the fallout from the failed California bank engulfing the British tech sector. After the U.S. government dramatically intervened to protect SVB’s depositors on Sunday, the U.K.’s government similarly followed suit to protect “both the customers of SVB UK and taxpayers,” according to a statement from the U.K.’s finance ministry. British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said the sale would make good on his promise to “look after” the British tech sector. “Today the government and the Bank of England have facilitated a private sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK; this ensures customer deposits are protected and can bank as normal, with no taxpayer support,” Hunt said. “I am pleased we have reached a resolution in such short order.” The Bank of England said SVBUK had a total balance sheet of about $10.7 billion at the point of the bank’s failure last Friday.
