Exclusive: Two months after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the world’s largest tech bank, SVB Israel’s management team has joined hands with HSBC, as part of its move announced earlier this week to launch a global technology banking business.
The Israeli management team of five executives, including SVB Israel subsidiary founder David Cohen and longtime partner Gadi Moshe, has been appointed by HSBC in London and will be part of the global technology banking activities to be established which will include the provision of deposit and credit services. and venture capital loans to companies in the technology and life sciences sectors.
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According to LinkedIn, SVB Israel has 20 employees and it remains unclear if they will continue to work with the bank after its management transfer.
The transfer of management of SVB Israel to HSBC is not a takeover, as happened in the UK where the banking giant bought the British branch of SVB for £1. Cohen, Moshe and the other directors were appointed under personal contracts and are now expected to encourage their clients in Israel to transfer deposits and loans from SVB to HSBC. While five senior managers from the Israeli team will move to HSBC, it is not known what will happen to the other 15 SVB employees who were employed in the Israeli representative office on the eve of the collapse.
The initiative for the transition is believed to have come from Erin Platts, Head of EMEA and CEO of SVB UK. Platts oversaw SVB’s Israel office, which opened in 2008, and maintained working relationships with David Cohen and Gadi Moshe, even after the bank collapsed. At the same time, while in the UK the SVB operated as a bank to all intents and purposes, in Israel it operated through a representative office without a banking license. The bank is not registered as a foreign bank, and is not subject to banking regulations.
Thus ends the activities of the Israeli SVB, where until now it has served as a commercial office serving SVB on the West Coast of the United States. Last month, First Citizens Bank acquired SVB’s global operations, apart from the UK operations.
HSBC said: “We are delighted to have David Cohen and his senior and leading banking team join us in our continued expansion and support of this growing industry.”
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on May 4, 2023.
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