London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Feb 18, 2026

Banking stocks up as Silicon Valley Bank acquired by First Citizen Bank

Banking stocks up as Silicon Valley Bank acquired by First Citizen Bank

The lender's failure brought about the worst banking crisis since the 2008 financial crash and was the second largest bank collapse in US history.
A buyer has been found for the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the banking failure that heralded the financial unrest still being felt across financial markets.

First Citizen Bank, self-described as one of America's largest family-controlled banks, has bought SVB from US regulator the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which took over the lender earlier this month as depositors raced to withdraw money.

The sale led to shares in European lenders mounting a partial recovery on Monday morning, with an index of Europe's top banks rising 1.4% by 9am, after some major losses last week.

The UK arm of SVB was bought by HSBC in the days following the collapse.

All of Silicon Valley Bank's deposits, worth $119bn, and all loans are being taken over by First Citizen Bank, which will open 17 former SVB branches as First Citizen Banks on Monday. Customers of SVB are automatically First Citizen Bank customers as a result of the purchase.

About $72bn of SVB assets are being bought at a discount of $16.5bn (£13.49bn) and approximately $90bn (£73.6bn) are being left with the FDIC.

But the deposit insurance fund - paid into by banks in case of such a scenario - is down by $20bn (£16.34bn), the FDIC said.

The FDIC is a US state corporation providing deposit insurance to customers in US commercial and savings banks.

Once the bank of choice for tech companies and start ups, SVB was taken over by regulators after a bank run began.

Depositors and investors took fright when SVB's share price plummeted. The usually stable bonds held by SVB as security lost value as interest rates rose and attempts to sell shares to raise funds failed, leaving the bank insolvent.

It was the second largest bank failure in US history and set off the worst banking crisis since the 2008 financial crash.

The turmoil impacted Switzerland's second largest lender, Credit Suisse, which was forcibly bought by its longstanding rival UBS.

The largest shareholder in Credit Suisse, Saudi National Bank, said it would not invest further in the Swiss lender if needed, which sparked the latest crisis and resulted in the takeover.

On Monday morning, the chair of Saudi National Bank who made the comments resigned "due to personal reasons".

On Friday, Germany's largest bank became the focus in a wave of selling across banking and wider financial stocks.

Shares in Deutsche Bank fell more than 14% at one point during a volatile day of trading Europe-wide.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Inflation Slows Sharply in January, Strengthening Case for Bank of England Rate Cut
UK Inflation Falls to Ten-Month Low, Markets Anticipate Interest Rate Cut
UK House Prices Climb 2.4% in December as Market Shows Signs of Stabilisation
BAE Systems Predicts Sustained Expansion as Defence Orders Reach Record High
Pro-Palestine Activists Cleared of Burglary Charges Over Break-In at UK Israeli Arms Facility
Former Reform UK Councillors Form New Local Group Amid Party Fragmentation
Reform UK Pledges to Retain Britain’s Budget Watchdog as It Seeks Broader Economic Credibility
Miliband Defends UK-California Clean Energy Pact After Sharp Criticism by Trump
University of Kentucky to Host 2026 Summer Camps Fair Connecting Families with Local Programmes
UK Police Forces Assess Claims Jeffrey Epstein Used Stansted Airport Flights in Trafficking Network
UK-Focused Equity ETF FLGB Climbs to Fresh 52-Week Peak on Strong Market Sentiment
Trump Warns UK’s Chagos Islands Agreement Is a “Big Mistake” Amid Strategic Security Debate
Trump Urges UK to Retain Sovereignty Over Diego Garcia Amid Strategic Concerns
Italian Police Arrest Man After Alleged Attempt to Abduct Toddler at Bergamo Supermarket, Child Hospitalised With Fractured Femur
Rupert Lowe wanted to deport rape gangs and the communities who protected them
Reform UK Appoints Former Conservative Minister Robert Jenrick as Finance Chief
UK Unemployment Rises to Highest in Nearly Five Years as Labour Market Weakens
Rupert Lowe Advocates for English-Only Use in the UK
US Successfully Transports Small Nuclear Reactor from California to Utah
South Korea's traditional sand wrestling sport ssireum faces declining interest at home
Japan outlawed Islam
Virginia Giuffre accuses Epstein of trafficking to powerful men for blackmail.
New Mexico lawmakers initiate investigation into Zorro Ranch linked to Jeffrey Epstein
British Tourist Arrested at Hong Kong Airport After Meltdown and Vandalism
The Spanish government has ordered prosecutors to investigate platforms X, Meta and TikTok for allegedly spreading AI-generated child sexual abuse material
European Commission Plans Purchase Incentives Limited to Vehicles Manufactured Largely in the EU
French District of Pas-de-Calais Introduces Immediate License Suspension for Drivers Using Mobile Phones
Volkswagen Targets €60 Billion in Cost Reductions as Sales Decline and Global Pressures Intensify
Nigel Farage Names Reform UK Frontbench Team and Signals Zero Tolerance for Internal Dissent
Qualcomm to Withdraw UK Lawsuit Over Smartphone Chip Royalty Dispute
Major UK Banks Explore Domestic Card Network to Rival Visa and Mastercard
Cold Health Alert Issued Across UK as Temperatures Drop Sharply
Nine-Year-Old Becomes First Child in UK to Undergo Groundbreaking Leg-Lengthening Surgery
UK Workers Face Stagnant Incomes and a Softening Labour Market as Unemployment Climbs
UK Passport Rules Tightened for British Dual Nationals Under New Travel Guidance
California Deepens Global Climate Alliance with New UK Pact and Major Clean-Tech Investment Drive
UK Supreme Court Tightens Rules on Use of ‘Milk’ and ‘Cheese’ Labels for Plant-Based Products
University of Kentucky Postpones Feb. 19 Law Enforcement Training Exercise in Lexington
‘The only thing illegal is Keir Starmer handing these islands to a country like Mauritius!’
JD Vance says Germany is “killing itself” by taking in millions of fake asylum seekers from culturally incompatible nations.
UK Markets Signal Opportunity as Starmer Confronts Intensifying Political Pressure
Trump Criticises Newsom’s UK Climate Pact, Defends Federal Authority Over Foreign Engagements
UK’s Top Prosecutor Says ‘No One Is Above the Law’ as Police Review Claims Against Ex-Prince Andrew
Businessman Adam Brooks weighs in on the reports that the US is set to help Hamit Coskun flee the UK, over free speech concerns
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi Releases 3.5 Million Pages of Jeffrey Epstein Case Files
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Comment on European allies report blaming Russia for killing late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny using toxin from poison dart frogs
Eighty-Year-Old Lottery Winner Sentenced to 16.5 Years for Drug Trafficking
UK Quran Burner May Receive Asylum in the US Amid Legal Challenges
Rubio Calls for Sweeping U.N. Reform, Saying It Has Failed to End Wars in Gaza and Ukraine
10,000 Condoms Distributed at Winter Olympics 2026 Athlete Village Depleted Within 72 Hours
×