Reported Reuters, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) has requested banks interested in acquiring failed lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank to submit bids by March 17, marking the agency's second attempt at selling Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) after a failed effort on Sunday.
The FDIC has retained investment bank Piper Sandler Companies to run the new auction, with the aim of returning both lenders to the private sector after regulators took over the banks last week in a weekend of turmoil that has reverberated through the global financial system.
Signature Bank, which was well-known in the crypto space, was shuttered due to "a significant crisis of confidence in the bank's leadership," according to the New York financial regulator.
Any buyer of Signature must agree to give up all the crypto business at the bank, two sources added.
The sale of these banks is aimed at minimizing any capital shortfalls that would be covered by a government fund, which can place a levy on other banks.
The FDIC is looking to sell both SVB and Signature in their entirety, but if whole company sales do not happen, they will consider offers for parts of the banks. However, only bidders with an existing bank charter will be allowed to study the banks' financials ahead of submitting their offer, giving traditional lenders an advantage over private equity firms.