The US FDIC has announced that First Citizens Bank has come to an agreement to purchase Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) following its collapse and takeover by US authorities. The FDIC will retain $90bn of SVB’s securities and other assets, and estimates that the final cost to its Deposit Insurance Fund will be around $20bn.
First Citizens Bank will open 17 former branches of SVB today (27 March) and intends to merge the two banks and offer their services to SVB account holders. Their CEO, Frank B. Holding Jr., commented on the acquisition, expressing enthusiasm for the opportunity to build relationships with new customers and strengthen the nation’s banking system.
Silicon Valley Bank had been investing heavily into Irish companies since 2012, with plans to increase their investments into tech and life sciences businesses in the near future. However, its collapse had a direct impact on some Irish start-ups associated with the NDRC accelerator and Dogpatch Labs.
The UK branch of Silicon Valley Bank was rescued by HSBC with the help of the government and the Bank of England, but no taxpayer money was used in the transaction. This coupled with the subsequent collapses of Silvergate Bank, Credit Suisse, and other banks has caused alarm among the banking community.
