First Citizens Seeks New Mergers to Cross Growth Threshold

First Citizens BancShares is looking to make acquisitions that will give it the scale needed to deal with the additional regulations that come into effect when a bank reaches $250 billion in assets, Bloomberg reported Friday (Feb. 20), citing unnamed sources.

The bank had $230 billion in assets at the end of December, according to the report.

Because of the additional regulations that apply at the $250 billion threshold, banks often seek acquisitions to make a leap in profitability and revenue as they approach that number, the report said.

First Citizens BancShares did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

The bank announced in October that it agreed to acquire 138 branches in 11 states from BMO Bank.

“This deposit franchise is solid, and we look forward to serving individuals and business clients in these areas,” First Citizens Bank Chairman and CEO Frank B. Holding, Jr. said at the time in a press release. “Additionally, the net deposit position is expected to enable us to further enhance our liquidity position and provide additional flexibility to support our strategic initiatives.”

First Citizens Bank acquired the loans and assets of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March 2023, 17 days after that bank collapsed. It bought $72 billion worth of SVB’s assets for $16 billion.

The bank had purchased 14 failed banks in the previous 20 years.

“We have partnered with the FDIC to successfully complete more FDIC-assisted transactions since 2009 than any other bank, and we appreciate the confidence the FDIC has placed in us once again,” Holding said in a March 2023 press release.

About two months later, during an earnings report, First Citizens Bank its purchase of SVB had enabled its net income for the most recent quarter to jump to $9.5 billion, up from $243 million in the previous quarter.

First Citizens merged with CIT Group in October 2020, creating what was then the 19th biggest U.S. bank, with over $100 billion in assets. The agreement gave First Citizens stockholders about 61% ownership and CIT stockholders 39% of the combined company, which now operates under the First Citizens name.