Banking

Lenders had started tightening as early as the fourth quarter in anticipation of a possible recession. Now, the banking crisis is driving community and regional banks in particular to hit the brakes harder, stoking renewed recessions fears.

With the acquisitions of CIT Group and a large portion of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, the North Carolina company has doubled in size for the second time in a little more than a year and joined the class of super regionals.

The banks invested in bonds at a time when rates were low, and their value has since dropped substantially. While there appears to be very little risk that the banks will ever have to realize the losses, an American Banker data analysis raises questions about whether regulators should toughen their monitoring of interest rate risk.

First Citizens BancShares in North Carolina has entered into a purchase and assumption agreement for all deposits and loans of the failed bank, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. About $90 billion of securities and other assets will remain in receivership.

Companies like U.S. Bancorp have found ways to apply the information they use to serve thin-file applicants to small-business owners and other borrowers.

The San Francisco bank said the move is designed to "foster closer alignment with the shareholder experience and signal commitment to the bank and all of its stakeholders." The company's stock price has fallen 89% this year, and government officials have reportedly been working with industry leaders on a rescue deal.

The Los Angeles company says it secured $1.4 billion of cash from a financing facility from Atlas SP Partners after clients drew down an additional 20% of the bank's deposits. Deposit levels have "stabilized," PacWest says.

Wall Street leaders and U.S. officials discussing an intervention at First Republic Bank are exploring the possibility of government backing to encourage a deal that would shore up the lender, people with knowledge of the matter say.

In prepared remarks to the American Bankers Association, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the government's intervention to cover uninsured deposits at Silicon Valley and Signature banks "reduced the risk of further bank failures."

After a bank run led to Signature Bank's failure, New York Community Bancorp bought much of what was left from the FDIC. The acquirer now faces questions about how it will persuade the remaining depositors to stick around.

The $1.25 trillion-asset Home Loan Bank System collectively issued $303.9 billion in discount notes and bonds last week, with demand tapering dramatically from $111.8 billion on Monday to $21.7 billion by Friday.

Since the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, unstable deposit funding has roiled the banking industry. Ideas on how to reestablish confidence include providing a temporary guarantee for all deposits, raising the deposit insurance limit and reviving an expired program that helped quell market panic in 2008.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says it has extended the deadline for bids on Silicon Valley Bank, will break the bank into two parts for sale and will allow nonbanks to bid on asset portfolios.

Shadows loomed over Credit Suisse and First Republic early Thursday, but the sector outlook brightened after billions of deposits were pledged to the U.S. bank.

The system of 11 regional banks issued a combined $137 billion of bonds and discount notes on Tuesday and Wednesday, after selling $112 billion on Monday, the largest single day of issuance in its 90-year history.

The company agreed to pay $27.2 million in restitution to shareholders and revised its 2022 earnings to show a steep loss. The plea agreement with the Department of Justice was tied to Sterling's now defunct low-documentation mortgage program.

Navigating challenges and what's ahead in banking regulation.

The FDIC named Greg Carmichael, who retired last year as CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp, to run a bridge bank that will hold Signature's deposits and most of its assets.

The San Francisco-based bank, whose stock came under pressure after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, said the increased borrowing capacity strengthens and diversifies its funding. The bank's "capital and liquidity positions are very strong," executives said.

The bank's tech-sector focus contributed to its rapid demise. But the reasons for its failure come down to the nuts and bolts of banking, and other banks may have similar vulnerabilities.