First Citizens a 'major player' with SVB deal -wealth manager

STORY: "California is not part of [First Citizens'] footprint," Miller explains, "It's great opportunity to get into that footprint."

She also describes SVB as "a very sought-after institution, very well-heeled and [an] exciting, to some people, clientele."

She calls pairing it with North Carolina-based First Citizens an "interesting match-up", explaining it was "half the size of what SVB was," but that it does "have a history of building out their business buying distressed assets."

First Citizens will not pay cash upfront for the deal. Instead, it said it granted equity appreciation rights in its stock to the FDIC that could be worth up to $500 million -- a fraction of what Silicon Valley Bank was worth before it failed.

The deal comes after the FDIC took over Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 after depositors rushed to pull out their money in a bank run that also brought down Signature Bank and wiped out more than half the market value of several other U.S. regional lenders.

The deal was "momentous" for First Citizens, CEO Frank Holding told investors on a conference call Monday. "We believe this transaction is a great outcome for depositors."