According to a recent report by Reuters, the FDIC in the US has imposed a new condition for prospective buyers of Signature bank.
Apparently, any party interested in acquiring Signature will need to agree to completely divest from the cryptocurrency business of the bank.
Sources say that the FDIC is looking to offload both Signature and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in their entirety, though they may consider selling off these assets in stages if necessary.
In addition to this, the authorities are also keen on giving traditional lenders a competitive edge over private equity firms.
Applications for the acquisition of these banks will be accepted until March 17th, and the FDIC is reportedly making significant efforts to bring lenders back into the private sector following the regulatory takeover of SVB and Signature.
This marks the second attempt by the FDIC to sell off SVB, after an unsuccessful auction on Sunday. To help facilitate the new auction, the FDIC has reportedly hired investment bank Piper Sandler Companies.
A number of banks were said to have considered but ultimately rejected the offer to acquire SVB during last weekend’s auction, including PNC Financial Services and Royal Bank of Canada, the latter of which owns City National Bank, a credit bank that is focused on California.
March 2023 has proven to be a challenging month for banks operating in the cryptocurrency industry, as Silvergate, Signature, and Silicon Valley have all announced that they will be terminating their operations.