HSBC acquires British arm of stricken Silicon Valley Bank

By Iain Withers

LONDON (Reuters) -HSBC said on Monday it is acquiring the UK subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank for 1 pound.

“This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK,” HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said in a statement.

The move comes after U.S. authorities moved to shore up deposits and stem any wider fallout from the sudden collapse of its parent, tech start-up lender Silicon Valley Bank.

As of March 10, Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited had loans of around 5.5 billion pounds and deposits of around 6.7 billion pounds, HSBC said.

SVB UKs tangible equity is expected to be around 1.4 billion pounds, HSBC said.

The transaction completes immediately and will be funded from existing resources, the bank added.

Unlike the United States, Britain has not announced broader liquidity measures for the banking system.

(Reporting by Iain Withers; editing by John ODonnell)