UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank paid out more than £15million in bonuses days after bailout
The UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has paid out more than £15million in employee bonuses just days after it was saved from collapsing by a Bank of England-organised bailout.
Days after the insolvency bailout payouts to staff including its senior executives were signed off by HSBC either this week, according to Sky News.
The bonus pool was described as ‘modest’ and sources claimed it totalled between £15million and £20million.
Another said the payments were a signal of HSBC’s confidence in the talent base and that the buyer was keen to honour previously agreed payments to retain key staff.
HSBC UK spokesperson said: ‘We have honoured these previously agreed payments as to retain talent and demonstrate our confidence in SVB UK.’
It has not been confirmed how much was awarded to the UK bank’s chief executive, Erin Platts or her senior colleagues.
SVB UK is led by Erin Platts, an American who first joined its US parent company in 2004 before moving to Britain in 2007 and taking over as UK and Europe boss in 2019.
SVB UK was brought to the brink of insolvency last weekend by the travails of its American parent company, according to Sky News.
Platts sought to reassure clients earlier in the month, hours before the Bank of England intervened, saying the business was a standalone entity with its own governance and balance sheet.
It is believed that had the bank not been acquired solvently, the bonuses would not have been granted to their members of staff.
HSBC bought the UK arm of SVB, securing the deposits of more than 3,000 customers worth £6.7billion, this month for just £1.
No taxpayer money was involved, and customer deposits have been protected, according to HM Treasury.
The sudden collapse of SVB’s US parent sent shockwaves through global markets as it became the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.
Bonuses were also paid to its US staff just hours before the bank collapsed, according to reports last week.
U.S., parent company SVB Financial Group said on Friday it had filed for a court-supervised reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to seek buyers for its assets, days after former unit Silicon Valley Bank was taken over by U.S. regulators
Founded in 1982, SVB was the biggest bank in Silicon Valley and specialised in lending to start-up tech firms.
