New York Community Bank To Acquire Most of Signature Bank For Under $3bn

New York Community Bank (NYCB) has made a deal to acquire a substantial portion of the failed Signature Bank for $2.7 billion, according to an announcement by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on Sunday.

A Bold Move By NYCB

The FDIC confirmed that NYCB will purchase $38.4 billion of assets from the New York-based Signature Bank. That represents approximately one-third of Signature’s original $110 billion assets before it failed last week.

NYCB will also be renaming 40 branches of Signature Bank to Flagstar Bank starting Monday, as Flagstar is one of NYCB’s subsidiaries. However, around $60 billion worth of loans from Signature Bank will remain in receivership. These loans will be sold at a later time.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on Friday was followed by Signature Bank’s failure approximately 48 hours later. SVB’s collapse was the second-largest in U.S. history, second only to Washington Mutual’s collapse in 2008. Signature Bank’s collapse on Sunday was the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history.

Despite concerns over deposit insurance, regulators have ensured that all depositors and their money at the failed institutions, SVB and Signature Bank, will remain protected even with figures over the $250,000 federal insurance.

The FDIC has also taken additional measures to boost confidence and prevent a domino effect in this banking crisis.

Signature Bank Is Dead and Gone

Signature Bank was a significant commercial lender in the tri-state area, and its assets recently expanded to include cryptocurrencies. The prevalence of uninsured deposits and exposure to crypto and tech-focused lending reportedly caused its collapse.

The FDIC has stated that taxpayers will not bear the direct cost of Signature Bank’s failure. The estimated cost of the deposit insurance fund is expected to be $2.5 billion, but this figure may change as the regulator sells off assets.

Conclusion

NYCB’s acquisition of Signature Bank is a significant development in the banking industry, with the deal expected to have a considerable impact on both banks and their customers.

The FDIC has assured depositors that their money remains protected, and regulators have taken measures to prevent a repeat of this banking crisis.