First Citizens acquires Silicon Valley Bank

North Carolina-based First Citizens will buy Silicon Valley Bank, the tech industry-focused financial institution that collapsed earlier this month, rattling the banking industry and sending shockwaves around the world. The deal could reassure investors at a time of shaken confidence in banks, though the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and other regulators had already taken extraordinary steps to head off a wider banking crisis by guaranteeing that depositors in SVB and another failed US bank would be able to access all of their money.

Customers of SVB will automatically become customers of First Citizens, which is headquartered in Raleigh. The 17 former branches of SVB will open as First Citizens branches Monday, the FDIC said. European shares opened higher Monday, with German lender Commerzbank AG up 2.4 per cent and BNP Paribas up 1.2 per cent.

Investors worry that other banks may also crumble under the pressure of higher interest rates.