HSBC to buy Silicon Valley Bank UK for £1 in rescue deal

Takeover, arranged by government, likely to save British startups from big losses after US bank's collapse

• Live coverage of Silicon Valley Bank collapse
• Why did it collapse and is this the start of a banking crisis?
• Why Silicon Valley Bank was so important to UK tech sector

The government has struck a last-minute deal for HSBC to buy Silicon Valley Bank's UK operations, saving thousands of British tech startups and investors from big losses after the biggest bank failure since 2008.

The takeover will override the Bank of England's initial decision to place SVB UK into insolvency, after a run on the lender that was originally sparked by fears over the a multibillion-pound shortfall on the US parent company's balance sheet. The US bank was closed and its assets seized by authorities on Friday.