Federal regulators have extended the bidding period for Silicon Valley Bank, the California lender whose collapse earlier this month sparked a broader banking crisis, while also expanding the pool of institutions they are willing to accept as potential buyers of assets and deposits.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said on Monday it would accept separate bids for the main bank, now called Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, and for the private bank, which caters to wealthy customers and sits within its retail operations. It also said it was open to accepting bids from non-bank buyers for SVB’s assets.
The announcements mark a shift in the FDIC’s approach to selling the bank after taking it over on March 10 when customers panicking about its financial health raced to withdraw deposits.
With regional lenders reluctant to take on SVB’s assets, which largely include long-dated securities that have lost value after interest rate rises, the FDIC has failed to find a buyer for the bank as a whole.
The FDIC said bids for the private bank were now due by Wednesday while the bidding process for the main bank would close on Friday.
“There has been substantial interest from multiple parties, and the FDIC and the bidders need more time to explore all options in order to maximise value and achieve an optimal outcome,” the FDIC said in a statement.
The Financial Times previously reported that private equity firms, including Blackstone Group, Apollo Global Management and Carlyle Group, were looking at SVB’s $74bn loan book for assets that might fit into their credit portfolios.
Buyout groups wanted the option to study bids for large chunks of SVB’s loan book but were unable to conduct due diligence because the FDIC wanted to sell the bank in its entirety to a rival lender.
The FDIC closed SVB after a failed effort to raise new capital sparked a bank run, with customers withdrawing $42bn or a quarter of the bank’s total deposits.
US authorities have guaranteed all of SVB’s deposits and are operating the bridge bank to give customers access to their money.
The failure of SVB, which became the second-largest banking collapse in US history, has reverberated across the market. Billions of dollars have been wiped off bank valuations, and other regional lenders, including fellow California bank First Republic, are struggling to reassure investors about their financial positions.
On Sunday, Swiss lender UBS agreed to buy its rival Credit Suisse for $3.25bn after investors became concerned about its viability.