FDIC seeks Signet sale, wants Signature Bank's crypto clients out by April 5

Signature-Bank-Bloomberg-031323
Signage outside a Signature Bank branch in New York, US, on Monday, March 13, 2023. The sudden closure of New York's Signature Bank by state regulators Sunday underscored the urgency of extraordinary US efforts to backstop the nations banking system and quell mounting concerns among customers about the safety of their deposits. Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) --The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is seeking to sell Signet, the real-time payments network for crypto companies operated by the now failed Signature Bank.

A spokesperson for the regulator confirmed the plan after the FDIC asked crypto depositors at Signature to close their accounts and move their money by April 5. 

New York Community Bancorp. assumed most of Signature Bank's deposits and some of its loans earlier this month following its closure by regulators as turmoil engulfed regional banks. The deal excluded about $4 billion of deposits related to Signature's digital-assets banking business, the FDIC said at the time. 

Signet had remained under the FDIC's receivership following the NYCB deal. As questions swirled about the fate of the business, many crypto trading firms and platforms left or reduced their use of the Signet platform due to the uncertainty.

The FDIC informed depositors on Tuesday that any accounts not closed by April 5 will be automatically shut and depositors will receive a check in the mail. 

"We are reaching out to the depositors from Signature whose deposits were not included in NYCB's bid," an FDIC spokesperson said then, confirming it pertained to digital-asset clients. 

The shuttering of Silvergate Capital Corp. and Signature Bank has made it difficult for crypto platforms and investors to transfer traditional currencies. US prosecutors were investigating Signature Bank's work with crypto clients before the lender's sudden collapse, Bloomberg has reported.

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