In an exclusive interview, the head of the Prudential Regulatory Authority talks about Credit Suisse, the gilt market meltdown – and stress-testing banks for the climate crisis
• ‘Terrible climate events happen all the time’
Sam Woods’s 20th wedding anniversary was more eventful than he’d expected. The boss of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) had headed to Devon for a celebratory weekend with his wife. But rather than settling in for dinner that evening, Woods had to book an extra hotel room to use as a makeshift crisis centre after US lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) suddenly collapsed.
Round-the-clock calls with ministers and City executives followed, but the hours bore fruit. At 7am on Monday it was announced that HSBC would come to the rescue, paying £1 for SVB’s UK operations and averting a cash crunch that could have paralysed Britain’s startup sector.
