Silicon Valley Bank: Trading halted for firm behind global share slump

Trading in shares of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has been suspended, as the firm's scramble to raise money provokes fears of wider problems in the banking industry.

Markets are waiting for an announcement from the bank, which sparked panic after saying it would need to raise $2.25bn (£1.9bn) to plug a loss caused by the sale of assets affected by higher interest rates.

Shares in the firm tumbled overnight.

Bank shares globally were also hit.

SVB, headquartered in California, is a key lender to technology firms. Its shares saw their biggest one-day drop on record on Thursday as they plunged by more than 60% and lost more in after-hours trade.

Concerns that other banks could face similar problems led to widespread selling.

The four largest US banks lost more than $50bn in market value on Thursday, while shares of banks in Asia and Europe fell sharply on Friday.

Among the UK banks, HSBC shares fell 4.8% and Barclays dropped 3.8%.