HSBC bosses were aware of plan to steal SVB secrets, First Citizens alleges

SENIOR executives at HSBC Holdings were aware of an alleged plan by a US unit to poach employees and steal trade secrets from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) shortly after First Citizens Bank & Trust bought the failed lender last year, according to a revised lawsuit filed on Wednesday (Feb 7) in San Francisco.

First Citizens initially sued in May, claiming HSBC’s David Sabow, a former SVB executive, spearheaded a scheme called “Project Colony” to hire 42 SVB employees and obtain confidential information. First Citizens now alleges HSBC chief executive officer Noel Quinn and Michael Roberts, the head of the bank’s Americas unit, were among those who also knew about the plan.

Even before First Citizens acquired SVB in March 2023, Sabow told HSBC UK’s head of commercial banking that the “Project Colony” plan had been shared with the UK firm’s senior leadership, including Roberts, CEO of Global Banking & Markets Greg Guyett and HSBC UK’s CEO Ian Stuart, according to the court filing.

“I know the team was also discussing with Noel (believe there was a meeting yesterday),” Sabow said in the Mar 19 communication.

Sabow had worked in a healthcare and technology banking practice at SVB before jumping to HSBC, which acquired SVB’s UK assets on Mar 13. HSBC announced in April that Sabow would head a new healthcare and technology banking practice at its US unit.

HSBC has said it was not barred from hiring the former SVB employees.

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Silicon Valley Bank collapsed last year after concerns about its finances led customers to pull their money. First Citizens agreed to buy the bank later that month. BLOOMBERG