By
Bhushan Akolkar
April 17th, 2024
According to Bank of London co-founder and CEO Anthony Watson in a statement, the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank SVB’s assets could be a unique opportunity to grow the banking sector in the United Kingdom.
The defunct Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a commercial bank headquartered in Santa Clara, California, has attracted the attention of major financial regulators around the world. With offices in 13 nations around the globe, SVB’s bank run, which has been described as the largest bank failure in the United States since the 2008 financial crisis, affected high-net-worth investors and businesses, including in the cryptocurrency industry. Moreover, Circle’s USDC de-pegged over the weekend following exposure to SVB. Nonetheless, the United States Federal Reserve Board on Sunday announced a $25 billion bailout to struggling banking organizations, particularly to enable the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to complete its resolutions of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Similarly, the United Kingdom financial guards are reportedly working to safeguard SVB depositors by providing lifeline cash. According to a report by FT, the UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was looking to avoid or minimize damage to some of the most promising companies.
UK prepares cash lifeline for tech companies hit by Silicon Valley Bank collapse https://t.co/xCBaAqt24i
— Financial Times (@FT) March 12, 2023
Bank of London Eyes Silicon Valley Bank Assets
The Bank of London, a clearing bank, has submitted a formal proposal to acquire assets belonging to the UK subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Having existed since 1983, the Silicon Valley Bank has amassed deep-pocketed investors, including key businesses, that its total failure could be catastrophic to major global economies.
“A consortium of leading private equity firms, led by The Bank of London, confirms it has submitted formal proposals to His Majesty’s Treasury, The Prudential Regulation Authority at The Bank of England and the Board of Silicon Valley Bank UK,” the statement said.
According to Bank of London co-founder and CEO Anthony Watson in a statement, the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank SVB’s assets could be a unique opportunity to grow the banking sector in the United Kingdom.
“Silicon Valley Bank cannot be allowed to fail given the vital community it serves. This is a unique opportunity to ensure the UK has a more diversified banking sector whilst allowing continuity of service to SVB’s UK client base,” he said.
Reuters reported over the weekend that advisory firm Rothschild & Co is exploring options for the Silicon Valley Bank UK subsidiary as insolvency looms, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
The #Fed knows the #economy is so fragile that the failure of #SVB would cause a financial crisis. So it abandoned its #inflation fight and backstopped the banks instead. That proves #Powell was lying about both the strength of the U.S. economy and his resolve to fight inflation.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) March 13, 2023
The quick actions to bolster SVB have been called out by several economists claiming that the United States Fed could be lying about the state of the economy. Moreover, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated more monetary constraints to fight high inflation.