LONDON, March 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A crisis can be an opportunity for the prepared. That’s what HSBC (HSBA.L) may find with its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm (SVBUK), announced on Monday morning. The London-based giant is paying 1 pound for the failed Californian lender’s local division, which it reckons could have a tangible book value of around 1.4 billion pounds. HSBC boss Noel Quinn also gets a few thousand new fast-growing, technology-focused customers in Britain, as well as the chance to forge deeper banking connections with their venture-capital backers.
Not everyone is happy. The Bank of London, a young clearing bank that also submitted a bid, said on Monday that the HSBC deal was a missed opportunity to promote competition. On that theory, the UK government and Bank of England should have handed SVBUK to a financial-technology startup or a challenger bank, rather than strengthening an established player. But that misses the point. In a crisis, regulators and policymakers are rightly focused on stability above all else. Big names who stand ready to provide that stability can reap the rewards. (By Liam Proud)
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