The collapsed Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm provided bonuses to its employees after HSBC acquired the company.
According to a Sky News report, insiders revealed the “modest” bonus pool was between £15m and £20m in total, around $18 million to $24 million.
HSBC approved employee payouts, including those to senior executives, earlier this week.
HSBC acquired Silicon Valley Bank UK arm for £1 in a deal facilitated by the Government and the Bank of England. The bonus payouts demonstrated HSBC’s faith in the UK subsidiary’s talent pool.
According to insiders, the bonuses would not have been paid out if SVB UK had not been financially stable at the time of the acquisition. When Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, the U.S. employees did obtain bonuses before the California regulator seized the bank.
Meanwhile, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, SVB Financial Group, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy to get protection against its creditors. Administrators will now assist it in paying the creditors’ claims by liquidating assets.
