Signature Bank becomes next casualty of banking turmoil after SVB
State regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank on Sunday, the third largest failure in U.S. banking history, two days after authorities shuttered Silicon Valley Bank in a collapse that stranded billions in deposits.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of Signature, which had $110.36b in assets and $88.59b in deposits at the end of last year, according to New York state's Department of Financial Services, Reuters reported.
All of the depositors of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole, and "no losses will be borne by the taxpayer," the U.S. Treasury Department and other bank regulators said in a joint statement.
Representatives for the lender did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Investors were unnerved by the speed at which startup-focused SVB, the 16th largest lender in the U.S., was toppled by customer withdrawals. The episode last week erased more than $100b in market value from U.S. banks, prompting swift action from government officials over the weekend to try and restore confidence in the financial system.
The FDIC established a "bridge" successor bank on Sunday which will enable customers to access their funds on Monday. Signature Bank's depositors and borrowers will automatically become customers of the bridge bank, the FDIC said.
Silicon Valley Bank customers will have access to their deposits starting on Monday, U.S. officials said on Sunday. The federal government also announced actions to shore up deposits and try and stem any broader fallout.
European stocks slide
European equities slumped the most since mid-December, extending Friday’s declines, as investors weighed the repercussions from SVB’s collapse while also bracing for this week’s key US inflation data.
Swiss financial regulator FINMA on Monday said it was closely monitoring the banks and insurers it oversees after the U.S. moved to guarantee the deposits of two failing lenders in an effort to stem contagion.
Asia’s anxiety
Stunned by the sudden collapse of SVB, the main go-to foreign bank for the majority of Chinese start-ups, entrepreneurs and venture funds are scrambling for alternatives despite U.S. regulators’ guaranteeing decisions.
Chinese start-ups and fund managers said they are still looking to move their money out of SVB once they can. Some of them are turning to bigger U.S. banks, while a few Chinese lenders such as China Merchants Bank and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China are also rushing to fill the gap.
India's state minister for technology said on Sunday he will meet start-ups this week to assess the impact on them of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, as concerns rise about the fallout for the Indian start-up sector.