LONDON — The United States and the United Kingdom are trying to sort out the impact of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse on fintechs.

In the U.S., the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will guarantee bank deposits up to $250,000, including in insured bank branches in foreign banks that are payable to contract in the U.S. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) guarantees up to 85,000 pounds ($103,500), Chris Skinner, chief executive of The Finanser blog and fintech expert, said Tuesday at the FinovateEurope conference in London.
In U.K., HSBC makes a move
The U.K., for one, acted first by giving SVB UK to London-based $3 trillion HSBC for 1 pound ($1.22), Skinner said, noting, “HSBC got a good deal because they’re going to get all these innovators.”
“The stand-alone SVB UK unit made 88 million pounds ($107 million) in profit last year and doesn’t have the same problem of the separate U.S. parent,” he told Bank Automation News.
“This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the U.K.,” HSBC Group Chief Executive Noel Quinn said in a release. “It strengthens our commercial banking franchise and enhances our ability to serve innovative and fast-growing firms, including in the technology and life-science sectors, in the U.K. and internationally.”
In U.S., FDIC creates bridge bank
In the U.S., the FDIC has moved SVB’s deposits to a “bridge bank,” a chartered national bank that operates under the regulatory entity, according to the FDIC’s website. “The bridge bank structure is designed to ’bridge‘ the gap between the failure of a bank and the time when the FDIC can stabilize the institution and implement an orderly resolution.”
In the meantime, big banks, including JPMorgan Chase, have taken on SVB clients, for one, payroll provider fintech Rippling moved assets to JPMorgan late last week, according to the fintech’s website.
“The U.S. is still sorting it out … but it makes me a little bit nervous when we talk about the big banks because there was a big issue in the big banks 15 years ago,” Skinner said, referring to the Great Recession of 2008. “I’m sure the U.S. Fed will find buyers too,” he told BAN.
Neil Ainger contributed to this report




