The Amendments of the Law (Resolution of Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited) Order 2023

In view of the failure of the U.S. Silicon Valley Bank and the UK regulators‘ intention to sell the UK subsidiary of the Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited (SVBUL) to HSBC UK Bank plc., the regulators have issued a new order, the Amendments of the Law (Resolution of Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited) Order 2023 which was now published on legislation.gov.uk, the official website of the UK government for publicizing legal documents.
The order makes amendments to sections 138A and 139A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and to Regulation 14 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Excluded Activities and Prohibitions) Order 2014 to ensure that the transaction can take place and is in line with public interest.
Specifically, it
– alters certain supervisory powers of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to waive the requirement for application and consent of Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited for the transfer; and
– removes the condition of „a commercial transaction conducted on arm’s length terms“ in the UK’s ringfencing rules to permit HSBC to purchase shares of SVBUL which would otherwise be prohibited, respectively.