Silicon Valley Bank Has a New Owner: Will Resume Work Today

Nearly 3 weeks after SVB unceremoniously collapsed, it seems the U.S. authorities have finally found a buyer to take over and revive the bank.

SVB, the bank that powered much of the startup culture ever-present in the Bay Area and beyond, collapsed following a bank run once it became apparent that trouble was brewing for the bank. Peter Thiel and other savvy investors advised their networks to pull their funds out of the bank, prompting a domino effect that left SVB in FDIC receivership.

Potential Buyer Smaller Than SVB

Unlike Signature, another bank that collapsed around the same time but was quickly bought out by Flagstar, Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse was messy enough that nobody wanted to touch it for weeks.

However, according to a press release by the FDIC, there is a buyer in the face of First Citizens BancShares, Inc., a bank based in North Carolina.

Although FirstCitizens is technically one of the biggest banks in the U.S., it is far smaller than SVB was before its collapse.

While SVB held $209 billion in assets and $172 billion in deposits, CNBC reports that First Citizens holds about $109 billion in assets and total deposits of $89.4 billion.

The deal will see SVBs assets sold at a hugely discounted price.

“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. Approximately $90 billion in securities and other assets will remain in the receivership for disposition by the FDIC.”

According to a Bloomberg report, Valley National Bancorp had also reportedly been bidding on SVB, although further details regarding the bid were kept under wraps.

Bankers Fear Turmoil Is Barely Starting

News of SVBs’ acquisition reached traders in Europe and APAC before the markets opened, who acknowledged the news but also cautioned against an overly optimistic outlook.

According to Shayne Elliot, the CEO of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, a larger financial crisis is still on the table.

“It’s clearly not over. I don’t think you can sit here and say, ‘Well, that’s all done, Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse, and, you know, life will go back to normal. These things tend to roll through over a long period of time.”

It remains to be seen whether the bailout of the three big banks to fail so far will be enough of a stopgap, or if the effects of these collapses will trigger a larger crisis.