First Citizens Bank, a “family-owned” bank with more than $100 billion in assets, will buy Silicon Valley Bank, according to US authorities, who estimated that SVB’s bankruptcy would cost the Deposit Guarantee Fund about $20 billion

One of the largest banks in Silicon Valley and ranked among the top 20 in the US, Silicon Valley Bank specializes in financing technology companiesPhoto: Nikolas Liepins/AFP/Profimedia

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced that the Raleigh, North Carolina-based lender will assume all of SVB’s deposits and loans and operate its 17 branches.

First Citizens, which bills itself as the nation’s largest family-owned bank, has been one of the biggest buyers of troubled banks in recent years.

In 2008, Frank Holding Jr. took over as CEO of First Citizens, a company founded by his grandfather in 1898. Last year, First Citizens paid $2 billion to acquire CIT, a small business lender.

The SVB takeover would significantly increase the size of First Citizens, which at the end of last year had just over $100 billion in assets and nearly $90 billion in deposits, making it the 36th largest U.S. bank.

The deal follows a similar takeover announced a week ago for Signature Bank, whose operations were sold to New York Community Bank.