After failing to find a bidder the first time, FDIC is planning to try again to auction off the assets of the defunct Silicon Valley Bank.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources, the FDIC advised Senate Republicans that the agency had more latitude to sell SVB’s assets once regulators declared the bank’s collapse to constitute a threat to the financial system.
According to the report, the lender’s designation as “systemic” provides the FDIC additional leeway to provide incentives to possible buyers, such as loss-sharing arrangements.
There is currently no established date for the next auction. SVB was the sixteenth-largest bank in the country. The lender experienced a bank run, and California regulators closed it down on March 10. The FDIC then took over control of the bank’s assets.
In order to safeguard insured depositors, the agency established Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara (DINB) and transferred guaranteed deposits from SVB to DINB.
The FDIC began the auctioning process of SVB’s assets on March 11, keeping bids open until March 12. The FDIC had previously stated that all insured depositors would have access to their funds by March 13.
Yet, the WSJ story states that no significant US bank submitted a proposal for the lender, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reportedly turned down a deal from another institution.
HSBC UK Bank purchased the UK division of the institution when SVB went down for just £1 ($1.21). However, US President Joseph Biden stated that the damages brought on by the failure of SVB and Signature Bank will not be covered by US taxpayers.
