First Citizens BancShares has sued HSBC over accusations that the UK bank poached more than 40 employees from Silicon Valley Bank following the California bank’s collapse.

First Citizens acquired SVB’s assets and deposits several weeks after the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took it over in March for up to $500 million. HSBC meanwhile acquired SVB’s UK business.

The North Carolina-based First Citizens has filed a lawsuit in San Francisco federal court, claiming that HSBC violated federal law by hiring the workers so it could gain access to trade secrets. First Citizens is seeking more than $1 billion in damages.

The suit points to HSBC’s hiring of David Sabow, who led SVB’s technology and healthcare banking segment, in March shortly after the collapse. It claims that Sabow, along with five other former SVB officials, oversaw the alleged scheme to steal SVB’s business and convinced about 40 other employees to move to HSBC in April.

In the lawsuit, First Citizens said: "HSBC and Sabow short-circuited the normally expensive and lengthy process to do things such as conduct market research and develop competent financial projections necessary for launching a commercial banking business.”

HSBC, which has not commented on the lawsuit, last month said that it hired dozens of ex-SVB employees to help it establish a dedicated practice to serve companies in technology and healthcare.

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