UK working on cash lifeline for tech firms hit by Silicon Valley Bank collapse

Jeremy Hunt had meetings with Rishi Sunak and Bank of England governor over ‘high-priority’ issue

The UK government is drawing up plans for an emergency cash lifeline for tech firms hit by Silicon Valley Bank UK’s (SVB UK) collapse, which could help avoid any losses for startups that the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, warned were at “serious risk”.

The chancellor said the issue was a “high priority” for the government, and that he had been locked in late-night meetings with the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, in an attempt to avoid further fallout from the the collapse of SVB UK’s American parent company on Friday. It marked the largest failure of a bank since the 2008 financial crisis.