Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank

On Friday, March 10, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed receiver for Silicon Valley Bank, and on Sunday, March 12, the FDIC was appointed receiver for Signature Bank.

Although the FDIC initially announced that it would only transfer the insured deposits of Silicon Valley Bank to a newly chartered Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara, by Monday morning, March 13, the FDIC had announced it had transferred all deposits and substantially all the assets of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank to FDIC-operated full-service bridge banks, Signature Bridge Bank, N.A. and Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A., such that all deposits, insured and uninsured, would be fully protected. 

The same weekend, the Federal Reserve announced that had created a Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) to provide liquidity to depository institutions in the form of collateralized loans with maturities of up to one year, supported by a $25 billion backstop from the Exchange Stabilization Fund approved by the Treasury Secretary.

On March 19, the FDIC announced that Flagstar Bank, a subsidiary of New York Community Bancorp, Inc., had entered into a purchase and assumption agreement for assets and certain liabilities of Signature Bridge Bank. 

On March 26, after previously extending the bid window for Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, the FDIC announced that First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company of Raleigh, NC, had entered into a purchase and assumption agreement for all deposits and loans of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank.

On May 1, the FDIC announced that it had been appointed receiver of First Republic Bank, and entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank for all deposits and substantially all of the assets of First Republic Bank.

The FDIC has established webpages providing information about the failures of Silicon Valley Bank,  Signature Bank and First Republic Bank. This page collects our latest thinking and updates regarding the developing situation with Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank and related market developments.

Clients with questions should reach out to any of their regular contacts at Cleary Gottlieb or any of the partners or counsel listed on our website under Banking and Financial Institutions or Bankruptcy and Restructuring.

Cleary Gottlieb is a trusted resource in the financial sector for clear and up-to-the-minute guidance on the evolving regulatory landscape. Our preeminent banking and bankruptcy and restructuring practices have been intimately involved advising the private sector and governments in times of crisis, including the 2008 financial crisis and in the federal government’s actions to stabilize the economy during the COVID pandemic. We have extensive experience advising banking institutions and their depositors, creditors, and investors through the FDIC resolution process.