The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) entered into a purchase and assumption agreement for substantially all deposits and certain loan portfolios of Signature Bridge Bank by Flagstar Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York Community Bancorp.
The 40 former branches of Signature Bank will operate under New York Community Bancorp’s Flagstar Bank, N.A., on March 20, 2023.
The branches will open during their normal business hours. Customers of Signature Bridge Bank, N.A., should continue to use their current branch until they receive notice from the assuming institution that full-service banking is available at branches of Flagstar Bank, N.A.
Depositors of Signature Bridge Bank, N.A., other than cash depositors related to the digital-asset banking businesses, will automatically become depositors of the assuming institution.
All deposits assumed by Flagstar Bank, N.A., will continue to be insured by the FDIC up to the insurance limit.
Flagstar Bank’s bid did not include approximately $4 billion of deposits related to the former Signature Bank’s digital-assets banking business.
The FDIC will provide these deposits directly to customers whose accounts are associated with the digital-asset banking businesses.
Signature Bridge Bank was created by the FDIC on March 12, 2023, to take over the operations of Signature Bank, New York, New York, after the New York State Department of Financial Services closed the bank and appointed the FDIC as receiver.
As of December 31, 2022, the former Signature Bank had total deposits of $88.6 billion and total assets of $110.4 billion.
Transaction included the purchase of about $38.4 billion of Signature Bridge Bank, N.A.’s assets, including loans of $12.9 billion purchased at a discount of $2.7 billion.
Approximately $60 billion in loans will remain in the receivership for later disposition by the FDIC. In addition, the FDIC received equity appreciation rights in New York Community Bancorp, Inc., common stock with a potential value of up to $300 million.
The FDIC estimates the cost of the failure of Signature Bank to its Deposit Insurance Fund to be approximately $2.5 billion. The exact cost will be determined when the FDIC terminates the receivership.
Signature Bank was closed by the New York State Department of Financial Services, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver.
To protect depositors, the FDIC transferred all the deposits and substantially all of the assets of Signature Bank to Signature Bridge Bank, N.A., a full-service bank that will be operated by the FDIC as it markets the institution to potential bidders.
Signature Bank had 40 branches across the country in New York, California, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Nevada. Banking activities will resume Monday, March 13, 2023, including on-line banking.
Depositors and borrowers will automatically become customers of Signature Bridge Bank, N.A. and will continue to have uninterrupted customer service and access to their funds by ATM, debit cards, and writing checks in the same manner as before. Signature Bank’s official checks will continue to clear. Loan customers should continue making loan payments as usual.
The transfer of all the deposits was completed under the systemic risk exception approved earlier today. All depositors of the institution will be made whole. No losses will be borne by the taxpayers. Shareholders and certain unsecured debt holders will not be protected. Senior management has also been removed.
Any losses to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) to support uninsured depositors will be recovered by a special assessment on banks, as required by law.
The FDIC, as receiver for Signature Bank, has also transferred all Qualified Financial Contracts (as defined in 12 USC 1821(e)) of the failed bank to the bridge bank.
These actions will protect depositors and preserve the value of the assets and operations of Signature Bank, which may improve recoveries for creditors and the DIF.
Signature Bank had total assets of $110.4 billion and total deposits of $88.6 billion as of December 31, 2022. As receiver, the FDIC will operate Signature Bridge Bank, N.A. to maximize the value of the institution for a future sale and to maintain banking services in the communities formerly served by Signature Bank.