Firms At 'Serious Risk' From Silicon Valley Bank Collapse

UK tech companies are at "serious risk" from the collapse of the British division of Silicon Valley Bank, chancellor Jeremy Hunt has warned.

- Adam Forrest

Rishi Sunak and the chancellor held emergency talks with the governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey over the weekend to come up with a cash lifeline for affected firms as the bank goes into insolvency.

Mr Hunt said the government was "working at pace" to limit the damage and would come up with a plan to help the "cashflow" needs of the bank's customers in the UK. "The Bank of England has made it very clear there is no systemic risk to our financial system," he told Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday. "But there is a serious risk to our technology and life sciences sectors."

Mr Hunt added: "We are working at pace on a solution we will bring forward very soon plans to make sure people are able to meet their cashflow requirements, pay their staff."

Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves urged Mr Hunt to offer more than "warm words" to companies - demanding the chancellor comes up with a plan by the time markets open today. She told Sky News: "When markets open tomorrow morning, a lot of businesses in the UK are not going to be clear about how they can pay the wages of their staff and whether their deposits with Silicon Valley Bank and their financing arrangements are still in place."