HSBC relaunches SVB UK as 'innovation' division

HSBC

Asia-focused bank giant HSBC on Monday relaunched the recently-acquired UK arm of collapsed US lender Silicon Valley Bank as part of a major push into technology and life sciences.

It rebranded SVB UK as HSBC Innovation Banking, the London-listed lender said in a statement, three months after it bought the unit in a rescue deal for £1 ($1.2).

The division, headed by former SVB UK boss Erin Platts, will include HSBC's newly-formed innovation teams in Hong Kong, Israel and the United States, it added.

The announcement came at the start of London Tech Week, an industry showpiece for the British capital's vibrant technology scene.

The new division is a "globally-connected, specialised banking proposition" that will support "innovation businesses and their investors", the lender said.

HSBC in March bought SVB UK under a deal brokered by the UK government and the Bank of England.

The rescue came after parent group SVB collapsed, sparking panic in Britain over the division's key UK-based customers.

Monday's rebrand comes with "the UK's world-leading technology and life sciences sectors... central to growing the UK economy and boosting global exports", said HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn said Monday.

California-based SVB failed after an attempt to raise new money proved unsuccessful, triggering mass withdrawals by customers.

Its demise is the third-largest retail bank failure in US history. Fellow California lender First Republic Bank took the dubious second spot last month.