Following the acquisition of the UK operations of Silicon Valley Bank by HSBC earlier this year, the banking giant has launched HSBC Innovation Banking.
The new standalone entity will be core to the bank’s global innovation economy proposition, with the launch announced by HSBC at the start of London Tech Week on June 12.
HSBC Innovation Banking includes the former Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK), as well as newly formed innovation teams in the US, Israel and Hong Kong. Former SVB UK CEO Erin Platts (pictured) will remain as CEO of HSBC Innovation Banking in the UK, while former head of technology and healthcare at SVB in North America, David Sabow, will lead the new operation in the US.
SVB UK operated as a standalone entity with its own board prior to the sale to HSBC. According to Ms Platts, the bank will continue to maintain that separate board, while rebranding to HSBC Innovation Bank in the UK.
“In the other markets, we’re creating teams that are exclusively focused on the same segment as HSBC Innovation Bank in the UK,” she adds. “Everything from early stage start-ups through to fast-growth, venture-backed businesses, private equity-backed businesses, late-stage corporates, but also the venture capital and private equity funds that invest in innovation on that side of it.”
While the structure of HSBC Innovation Banking in the UK is “a little bit different” from a legal entity perspective, says Ms Platts, the vision of the new bank is to “serve this ecosystem in a consistent way, regardless of where our clients go”. HSBC brought on board around 45 staff in the US and 25 in Israel, and they are planning on bringing in a number of new colleagues in Hong Kong, she adds.
According to Ms Platts, the acquisition by HSBC has allowed SVB UK to realise a number of goals that have been previously been planned by the bank. Those goals include global expansion and the development of private banking, wealth management and investment banking capabilities. Now that SVB UK is part of HSBC, achieving those goals has accelerated by around seven years, she adds.
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“We would have had to build that essentially from scratch, or acquired it, and now we get to work with our colleagues who’ve been doing that for a number of years,” she says.
HSBC Innovation Banking UK has more than 650 employees in the UK and Nordics. In the US, an innovation team of more than 40 has been assembled across the Bay Area, Boston and New York. In Israel, more than 20 newly recruited bankers will be based in Tel Aviv.
In Hong Kong, around a dozen dedicated bankers are being onboarded to complement HSBC’s existing new economy expertise serving Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific.
The proposition combines deep sector expertise and bespoke client servicing, with financial strength and global reach. It will build on an extensive client base of 3000 innovation businesses and funds in the UK, and help tech and life science businesses with their growth ambitions, according to the bank.
