Silicon Valley Bank shut by California regulator

(Reuters) -A California regulator shut Silicon Valley Bank on Friday and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as receiver, according to the agency's statement.

Shares of the bank were halted on Friday, after they tumbled 66% in premarket trading.

Silicon Valley Bank is the first FDIC-insured bank to fail in more than two years, the last being Almena State Bank in October 2020.

Silicon Valley Bank had about $209 billion in total assets and about $175.4 billion in total deposits, as of Dec. 31, 2022.

The main office and all branches of Silicon Valley Bank will reopen on March 13 and all insured depositors will have full access to their insured deposits no later than Monday morning, according to the statement.

The startup-focused lender had 17 branches in California and Massachusetts, the FDIC said.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)