Banking on Technology - Reflections in light of SVB

News of HSBC's strategic purchase of the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank (without British taxpayer money and organised by the Bank of England to seek to support the UK's technology sector and protect confidence in the wider UK financial system) has been roundly welcomed, including by the UK's finance minister, Jeremy Hunt: "We were faced with a situation where we could have seen some of our most important companies - our most strategic companies - wiped out, and that would have been extremely dangerous".

Unlike the US authorities (whom have taken measures to contain the effects of the Bank's collapse on the wider market), the UK government has not effected any general liquidity actions to the UK banking sector as a whole (noting that SVB UK is ringfenced from the US group).

However, aside from inherent higher risks in a lack of diversity in an institution's client base, does the reportedly high concentration of technology firms in SVB's point to a larger issue of access for technology firms (in particular start ups) to the broader banking network?

If so, what are the barriers to entry? Or put another way, what are the concerns and real and/or perceived risks that may be inhibiting a number of Banks from offering their business to such customers, and what systemic steps, approaches and offerings can be developed to ameliorate these and allow for such access?      

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