SVB's UK arm issues 15M pounds in bonuses after symbolic bailout: Report

cointelegraph.com:

Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) has granted millions of pounds in employee bonuses, just days after it was rescued by global banking giant HSBC for just 1 pound, a recent report revealed.

According to a March 18 Sky News report citing unnamed sources, the payouts to SVB UK staff and senior executives were signed off "earlier this week" by HSBC UK Bank – the institution which acquired SVB UK for 1 British pound ($1.22 USD) on March 13.

It was reportedly "unclear" how much had been awarded to SVB UK’s CEO, Erin Platts, "or her senior colleagues," however the sources described the bonus pool as “modest,” and said that it totalled “between £15m and £20m.”

While the insiders reportedly noted that if SVB UK “not been acquired solvently,” the bonuses wouldn’t have “been paid this week,” one insider reportedly “pointed out” that the stock held by senior executives and other employees had been “rendered worthless” by SVB UK’s near-collapse.

Another insider reportedly added that the bonus payments were “a signal of HSBC’s confidence in the talent base” at SVB UK, and was to honor “previous agreed payments” in an effort to “retain key staff.”

SVB UK previously stated in a March 17 tweet that it was "delighted" to now be part of HSBC, after 14 years of supporting and "growing the UK's innovative economy."

With 14 years of supporting & growing the UK's innovation economy, @SVB_UK is delighted to now be part of @HSBC, joining a successful global organisation to fuel our client's growth and ours. #UKTech #SVBUK #Startups #HSBChttps://t.co/MNUl57S33Z

This comes after the Bank of England shut down the operations of SVB UK on March 10, stating that it had a “limited presence,” and no “critical functions” supporting the financial system.

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