Veteran Bank Buyer First Citizens Reportedly Wants Silicon Valley Bank

First Citizens Bank reportedly aims to buy Silicon Valley Bank.

The company — which has bought 20 failed banks over the last 14 years — has submitted an offer to buy Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and may also participate in this week’s auctions for the bank and its Private Bank subsidiary, Bloomberg reported Monday (March 20), citing unnamed sources.

First Citizens Bank did not immediately respond to PYMNTS’ phone call requesting comment.

A representative of the bank told Bloomberg: “It is First Citizens Bank’s policy not to comment on market rumors or speculation. First Citizens has a 125-year history of being a strong and stable bank, with a laser focus on doing what is best for our customers, employees and shareholders.”

There’s no certainty the bank or any other bidder will reach a deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) to acquire SVB, the report said.

Some observers question whether First Citizens, which ranks No. 30 in terms of assets among U.S. commercial banks, can handle a project the size of SVB, which is the second-largest FDIC-assisted bank failure in the country’s history, according to the report.

On the other hand, it has years of experience in acquiring failed banks, the report added.

First Citizens made an earlier offer for SVB that was rejected, Bloomberg reported Sunday (March 19).

Private equity and venture capital (VC) firms have been trying to put together deals to buy SVB in the days since its collapse, too, but the FDIC would prefer to sell it to another bank because that would make the transition smoother for customers and would ensure that the buyer meets the regulatory requirements, The Information reported Wednesday (March 15).

On Friday (March 17), it was reported that the FDIC is open to sweetening the deal by negotiating sharing losses if that speeds up the sale of SVB.

The regulator had previously ruled out sharing losses but is now open to it after it attempted to auction SVB, drew only one bidder and rejected the offer, the Financial Times reported Friday.