HSBC CEO Says SVB UK Will Form Core of New Global Tech Unit

Harry Wilson and Manus Cranny, Bloomberg News

Noel Quinn, chief executive officer of HSBC Holdings Plc, speaks during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. The New Economy Forum is being organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn said the bank’s takeover of the British arm of Silicon Valley Bank will provide the basis for a new global technology business.

“I want to take that capability globally,” Quinn said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. “I’m also setting up teams in other parts of the world that are the equivalents of SVB in the UK. So we bought a business in the UK, but I want to create that capability globally.”

Quinn was speaking alongside the release of HSBC’s first-quarter results that showed the bank’s £1 ($1.25) purchase of SVB UK over a single weekend in March added about 1% to the lender’s cost base. The bank said it booked a $1.5 billion provisional gain on the transaction.

In a statement released with the results, Quinn said buying SVB UK would allow HSBC to bank “the businesses of tomorrow.”

“We believe they’re a natural fit for HSBC, and that we’re uniquely placed to take them global,” said Quinn.