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UK firms await government help after US bank collapse

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The government is expected to announce support for companies after Silicon Valley Bank went bust.
UK tech firms are anxiously waiting to find out what government support they will get after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the US.
Some have told the BBC they could go bust if help does not come soon enough.
The Treasury says it is working to find a solution. An investment group has also offered to buy the bank’s UK arm.
It comes as US customers have already been told their deposits will be fully protected by the US government, putting pressure on the UK government to act.
On Sunday, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the BBC there was no risk to the UK’s financial system from the collapse of SVB, but « there is a serious risk to some of our most promising companies in technology and life sciences ».
He said he had been working with the prime minister and Bank of England governor « through the weekend to come up with a solution », and the government would bring forward a plan in the « next few days ».
Labour has criticised the government for not acting sooner.
Silicon Valley Bank – which specialised in lending to technology companies – was shut down by US regulators on Friday in what was the largest failure of a US bank since 2008.
The bank’s UK subsidiary was put into insolvency on Sunday.
It will allow individual depositors to be paid up to £85,000 from the UK’s deposit insurance scheme. However, most have far more money than this saved with the bank and will struggle to keep going if they are not able to access it.

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