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Silicon Valley Bank ordered closed by FDIC; assets seized

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 10: Employees stand outside of the shuttered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) headquarters on March 10, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Federal regulators ordered the closure of Silicon Valley Bank and seized all of its assets Friday, according to a press release.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) immediately took possession of all deposits at the bank and said all insured depositors will have full access to their deposits no later than March 13.


The FDIC also said it will pay uninsured depositors an advance dividend within the next week. 

The bank had approximately $209 billion in total assets and about $175.4 billion in deposits at the time of failure, the FDIC said.

According to the release, Silicon Valley Bank had 17 branches in California and Massachusetts. 

The closure marks the largest bank failure since Washington Mutual during the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

Silicon Valley Bank is the first FDIC-insured institution to fail this year. The last FDIC-insured institution to close was Almena State Bank on Oct 23, 2020.

The financial health of Silicon Valley Bank was increasingly in question this week after the bank announced plans to raise up to $1.75 billion in order to strengthen its capital position amid concerns about higher interest rates and the economy.

Customers with accounts in excess of $250,000 should contact the FDIC toll-free at 1-866-799-0959.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.