Failed Silicon Valley Bank Assets Acquired By Rival

The assets and loans of failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) are to be acquired by North Carolina-based First Citizens BancShares, the FDIC announced on Sunday.

It said SVB’s 17 former branches would reopen under the First Citizens name on Monday.

The FDIC advised SVB customers to continue using their local branch until they are fully integrated into First Citizens’ systems, after which they would be able to use other branches of the new bank.

SVB’s failure earlier this month led to that of another US bank, Signature Bank, and triggered concerns about the wider health of the banking system.

Fund toll

The failures were the biggest since the 2008 financial crisis.

First Citizens calls itself the US’ biggest family-controlled bank and has been one of the main acquirers of failing competitors in recent years.

It bought about $72 billion (£59bn) of SVB’s assets and loans at a discount of $16.5bn, while the FDIC, which is acting as receiver, will retain about $90bn of SVB’s assets.

The FDIC said it estimated the cost of SVB’s failure to its deposit insurance fund – paid for by member banks – at about $20bn.

‘Confidence’

SVB’s UK arm was acquired by HSBC earlier this month for £1.

“We appreciate the confidence the FDIC has placed in us,” said First Citiens chief executive Frank Holding Jr. “First Citizens has a proud history of growing organically and through strategic acquisitions.”

He said the bank was “specifically” committed to SVB’s business with private equity and venture capital investors.

Holding Jr. has overseen nearly two dozen acquisitions in FDIC-assisted deals since taking over in 2008.

The FDIC said SVB has about $167bn in assets and about $119bn in deposits as of 10 March.