Silicon Valley Bank Rescue Saves UK Tech From Crisis

Britain's tech industry was saved from a crisis yesterday after HSBC rescued the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank in a deal brokered by the government and the Bank of England.

- Alastair Jamieson

The £1 buy-up avoids the need for a taxpayer-funded bailout and secures the future of hundreds of firms put at risk by the collapse. But despite reassurances from governments around the world about the low risk of further bank failures, stock markets were hit by fears that high interest rates may be crippling the banking sector.

European bank shares saw their biggest rout since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while on Wall Street stocks in smaller banks plummeted. At a meeting in Brussels, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire called on markets to "calm down".

Regulators in the US closed the Silicon Valley Bank on Friday after depositors rushed to withdraw their funds all at once. Talks to rescue the UK arm continued over the weekend and into the early hours yesterday and included phone calls from prime minister Rishi Sunak on his plane on the way to San Diego for the Aukus summit.