First Citizens Bank quietly builds banking empire with SVB purchase, while concerns arise over investment-bank programs.

First Citizens Bank, owned by the Holding family, has acquired Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in a landmark FDIC-assisted deal, doubling its size to $219bn and becoming one of the 20 largest banks in America. The Holding family collectively owns about 20% of First Citizens’ stock and has close to 50% voting power in the company, for a cumulative stake worth $2.7bn thanks to Monday’s 54% stock gain following the deal. First Citizens has been on a mission to expand nationwide via opportunistic acquisitions, with its growth accelerating since the 2008 financial crisis thanks in part to a series of more than 20 FDIC-assisted acquisitions of small failed banks.