The Silicon Valley Bank UK has generated interest in several buyers, including the Bank of England, after the bank’s recent collapse.
Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) collapse had sent shockwaves worldwide, after which the Bank of England announced some relief by announcing its decision to buy the British arm of the bank, the Silicon Valley Bank UK. The Bank of England would be, in fact, leading a group of private equity players to purchase the British subsidiary of the US bank.
“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 SVB UK,” said the Bank of England. Earlier, reports had also emerged of other financial firms being interested in the SVB UK, including OakNorth Bank and the Abu Dhabi Investment vehicle ADQ.
Authorities in the United Kingdom rushed to work after the SVB debacle. Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of the UK, had assured that the government would assist the British clients of the SVB bank in terms of cash flow and liquidity. The UK Treasury had also made announcements along the same lines. Bank of England stopped Silicon Valley Bank UK’s operations on March 10, stating that the UK’s companies had limited exposure to the bank.
But over 200 CEOs and founders of technology companies in the UK had revealed the situation was grave since their banking partner was the Silicon Valley Bank. Regulatory authorities in the USA are also working on carving a way ahead for the closed bank.