Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK) has reportedly granted millions of pounds in bonuses to staff and senior executives, just days after being rescued by HSBC for a nominal sum of £1.
According to unnamed sources cited by Sky News, HSBC UK Bank signed off on the bonus payouts earlier this week, with the pool totaling between £15m and £20 million (about $18.26 million and $24.35 million). Insiders stated that the bonus payments were to honor previous agreements and retain key staff, despite the stock held by employees being rendered worthless by SVB UK’s near collapse.
As per the report, on March 18, it remained uncertain how much the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK), Erin Platts, and her senior colleagues had been awarded in bonuses following the bank’s acquisition by HSBC UK Bank for £1 ($1.22) on March 13.
Furthermore, an insider noted that these bonus payments were a way for HSBC to retain key staff and show confidence in the talent base of SVB UK, and that the payouts were part of previously agreed-upon payments.
This information was noted in relation to the fact that the payouts were part of the bonus payments. In spite of the payouts, the report also noted that the stock that was held by senior executives and other employees of SVB UK had been rendered worthless as a result of the bank’s dangerously close call to failure.
After having operations in the United Kingdom for approximately 14 years, SVB UK made the announcement earlier this week on their Twitter account that they were overjoyed to now be a part of the massive HSBC organization.
This comes in the wake of an announcement made by the Bank of England (BoE), which stated that it plans to shut down the SVB bank in the UK. In addition to this, the BoE stated that it had a “limited presence” and did not fulfill any “critical functions” for the global financial system.
This comes after it was reported by PR Newswire that the Silicon Valley Bank had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and that it sought buyers for its other assets. The PR Newswire article stated that Silicon Valley Bank had sought buyers for its other assets.
