Signature Bank fails, taken over by regulators

Signature Bank, with offices on Long Island, has failed and been taken over by regulators, state officials announced on Sunday.

The Manhattan-based lender had assets of $110.36 billion and deposits of $88.59 billion as of Dec. 31, according to the state Department of Financial Services, which regulates banks.

Signature’s failure is the third largest in U.S. history and follows Friday’s failure of Silicon Valley Bank in California.

Signature has offices throughout the metropolitan area, including in Garden City, Great Neck, Hauppauge, Jericho, Melville, Rockville Centre and Woodmere, according to its website. Signature focuses on lending to small businesses and commercial real estate companies.

Adrienne A. Harris, the state’s financial services superintendent, said on Sunday that the state took possession of Signature “in order to protect depositors.” She also said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures bank accounts up to $250,000, has been appointed receiver of the bank.

The financial services department “is in close contact with all regulated entities in light of market events, monitoring market trends and collaborating closely with other state and federal regulators to protect consumers, ensure the health of entities [that] we regulate and preserve the stability of the global financial system,” Harris said in a statement.

Signature was founded in 2001 as a New York State-chartered lender. It also is a public company with shares traded on the Nasdaq stock market.

Besides the metro area, it has offices in California, Nevada and North Carolina.

State and federal officials worked over the weekend on ways to limit the damage caused by Signature’s failure and to prevent other lenders from failing, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

She said the officials were seeking “to stabilize the banking sector and protect the hard-earned money of New Yorkers whose livelihoods depend on impacted companies” that are Signature customers.

“Many depositors at these banks are small businesses, including those driving the innovation economy and their success is key to New York’s robust economy,” Hochul said in a statement, referring to Signature and Silicon Valley depositors.

In Washington, President Joe Biden said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard "worked diligently with the banking regulators to address problems at Silicon Valley and Signature Bank … They reached a prompt solution that protects American workers and small businesses, and keeps our financial system safe," he said in a statement.

Biden also said he will announce additional actions on Monday and said "those responsible for this mess" will be held "fully accountable."

Regulators had to rush to close Silicon Valley, a financial institution with more than $200 billion in assets, on Friday when it experienced a traditional run on the bank where depositors rushed to withdraw their funds all at once. It is the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, behind only the 2008 failure of Washington Mutual.

More information about the FDIC’s insurance limits for bank accounts may be found at fdic.gov or by calling 1-877-ASK-FDIC.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.