Inside HSBC’s VC Charm Offensive

Shortly after HSBC swooped on the carcass of Silicon Valley Bank in March of last year, picking up around 50 U.S. bankers and an $8 billion U.K. loan book, the London-headquartered bank’s management drew up plans to win over the biggest venture capitalists in the U.S. that had historically been SVB customers.

Fifteen months on, the bank can show progress in a couple of areas, including venture lending. HSBC has snared roughly 300 startup companies as clients over the last year, a figure management is hoping to grow into thousands, according to two people briefed on the bank’s strategy.