First Citizens snaps up Silicon Valley Bank — Branches open Monday

March 27, 2023 Alex Rustok

North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank is set to acquire all deposits and loans of Silicon Valley Bank, according to a statement from the Federal Deposit and Insurance Corporation (FDIC). 

Under the agreement, 17 former branches of Silicon Valley Bank will open as First Citizens Bank and Trust Company on Monday, March 27, while all depositors of SVB will automatically become depositors of First Citizens Bank. 

“As of March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, National Association, had approximately $167 billion in total assets and about $119 billion in total deposits. Today’s transaction included the purchase of about $72 billion of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, National Association’s assets at a discount of $16.5 billion,” said the FDIC in a statement.

Approximately $90 billion in securities and other assets will remain in the receivership for disposition by the FDIC. In addition, the FDIC received equity appreciation rights in First Citizens BancShares, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, common stock with a potential value of up to $500 million.

The North Carolina-based bank is the 30th largest commercial bank in the United States and has $109.2 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to Federal Reserve data.

Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on March 10 after rumors of a severe liquidity crisis at the bank prompted a bank run. The FDIC was then appointed as the receiver of the failed bank and attempted to auction off the fallen bank. 

The process included two separate auctions for SVB’s assets, one for its traditional deposits unit, and the other for its private bank, which is housed within its retail operations and caters to high-net-worth individuals.

Related: ‘How did this happen’ — Powell says Fed stumped over the collapse of SVB

Several firms are understood to have either been planning or have submitted bids for the collapsed U.S. bank.

First Citizens was reported by Bloomberg to have been planning an SVB bid as early as March 18. Three days later, it reportedly submitted a bid for all of SVB.. At the time, a First Citizens spokesperson declined to comment on “market rumors or speculation.”

Another regional bank, Valley National Bancorp is also understood to have submitted a bid for the collapsed bank.

Meanwhile, a March 24 report from Reuters suggests a third U.S. regional bank, Citizens Financial Group, had been preparing to submit an offer for SVB’s private banking arm.

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