PERFECT TIMING.

• Author: Mildenberg, David

For 125 years, First Citizens BancShares operated in relative obscurity as the nation's largest family-owned bank. That changed overnight in March when it plucked $72 billion of Silicon Valley Bank's deposits and loans about two weeks after the biggest U.S. banking collapse since 2009.

In a transaction negotiated with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Raleigh-based bank gained 18 branches, received a discount of about $16.5 billion on Silicon Valley's assets, and gained relationships with thousands of successful tech companies and tech investors at the California-based institution.

First Citizens' stock, which traded at about $585 in late March, soared to more than $900 when news of the deal broke. In mid-April, shares were trading for about $1,000, putting the company's market value around $14.3 billion. Its $218 billion in assets puts it among the 20 largest U.S. financial institutions with more than 500 branches in 23 states.

The FDIC took over Silicon Valley on March 10 after depositors pulled more than $40 billion...