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Here is a brief analogy for Signature Bank (SBNY):

• The **JPMorgan Chase** for the cryptocurrency industry.

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• **Commercial Real Estate Lending:** Provides financing for the acquisition, development, and refinancing of income-producing properties across various sectors.
• **Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Lending:** Offers loans and lines of credit to businesses for working capital, equipment purchases, and general corporate purposes.
• **Deposit Services:** Manages various checking, savings, and money market accounts for businesses and high-net-worth individuals.
• **Fund Banking:** Provides comprehensive banking and treasury management solutions specifically tailored for private equity, hedge, and venture capital funds.
• **Digital Asset Banking (Signet™):** Offered real-time, blockchain-based payment solutions for institutional clients in the digital asset space, facilitating instant settlement.
• **Mortgage Warehouse Lending:** Provides short-term credit lines to mortgage originators, enabling them to fund residential mortgages before they are sold to investors.

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Signature Bank (SBNY) primarily sold its services to other companies rather than individuals. However, banks generally do not publicly disclose the names of their specific major corporate customers due to client confidentiality. Instead, Signature Bank was known for serving the following major categories of business customers:

• Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Investors and Developers: Signature Bank was a prominent lender in the New York metropolitan area for commercial real estate projects. Its clientele included various businesses involved in the acquisition, development, and management of properties across sectors like multifamily housing, office, and retail.
• Professional Service Firms: The bank specialized in building relationships with and serving a large number of professional service businesses, such as law firms, accounting firms, and healthcare practices. They provided these firms with a comprehensive suite of banking, lending, and treasury management solutions.
• Cryptocurrency and Digital Asset Companies: In its later years, Signature Bank became a leading financial institution for the cryptocurrency industry. It provided critical banking infrastructure, including deposit accounts and its proprietary Signet real-time payments platform, to major cryptocurrency exchanges, stablecoin issuers (e.g., Circle, issuer of USDC, was a known client), crypto venture capital firms, and other businesses operating in the digital asset space. This segment grew to represent a significant portion of the bank's deposits.

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Joseph J. DePaolo Chief Executive Officer

Joseph J. DePaolo co-founded Signature Bank in 2001 and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Before co-founding Signature Bank, he was a Managing Director at Republic National Bank of New York, which he joined in 1988. During his tenure at Republic National Bank, he held multiple positions including First Vice President and Deputy Auditor, First Vice President and Senior Vice President of Consumer Banking, and Chairman of Republic Financial Services Corporation and Republic Insurance Agency. He began his career at KPMG, where he spent seven years as a senior audit manager. DePaolo was set to transition to a senior advisor role in 2023, with Eric R. Howell succeeding him as President and eventually CEO.

Stephen Wyremski Chief Financial Officer

Stephen Wyremski was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Signature Bank effective June 30, 2021. He joined Signature Bank in 2015 as Senior Vice President and Controller. Prior to his time at Signature Bank, he spent eight years at KPMG in New York City, where he held the position of Senior Manager in the banking audit practice, overseeing audits for large banking enterprises.

Scott Shay Chairman of the Board

Scott Shay co-founded Signature Bank in 2001 and served as its Chairman of the Board. Earlier in his career, Shay was a managing director of Ranieri Strategies, an asset manager. He also served as a director of Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel's largest banks, from 1997 to 2005.

John Tamberlane Vice Chairman

John Tamberlane was a co-founder of Signature Bank in 2001 and served as its Vice Chairman and Director. Prior to Signature Bank, Tamberlane was an executive at Republic National Bank, which he joined in 1980. At Republic, he led the consumer financial services division and was president of Republic subsidiaries Manhattan Savings Bank and its predecessor, Williamsburgh Savings Bank.

Eric R. Howell Chief Operating Officer

Eric R. Howell joined Signature Bank at its founding in 2001 as Controller. He held various roles of increasing responsibility, including Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2004 to 2013. He then became Executive Vice President-Corporate & Business Development in 2013, a role in which he launched national business lines and expanded the bank's presence to the West Coast. He was promoted to Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in July 2021. In February 2023, it was announced that Howell would succeed Joseph DePaolo as President effective March 1, 2023, and would eventually take over as CEO after DePaolo's transition to a senior advisor role. Prior to joining Signature Bank, Howell worked at Republic National Bank as a staff auditor and then as an Associate Managing Director.

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The public company Signature Bank (SBNY) failed and was closed by the New York State Department of Financial Services on March 12, 2023, making its ultimate risk the cessation of its business operations. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed as receiver.

According to FDIC reports, the key risks that led to Signature Bank's failure, in order of significance, were:

1. Poor Management and Inadequate Risk Management Practices: The root cause of Signature Bank's failure was poor management, which pursued rapid, unrestrained growth without implementing adequate risk management practices and controls. The bank's board and management did not prioritize good corporate governance and were unresponsive to FDIC examiner concerns and supervisory recommendations.
2. Over-reliance on Uninsured Deposits and Insufficient Liquidity Management: Signature Bank funded its rapid growth through an over-reliance on uninsured deposits without implementing fundamental liquidity risk management practices and controls. This left the bank highly vulnerable to deposit runs, which ultimately led to its illiquidity and failure, particularly in the wake of other bank collapses.
3. Exposure to and Reliance on the Cryptocurrency Industry: The bank failed to fully understand the risks associated with its reliance on crypto industry deposits and its vulnerability to contagion from turmoil in the crypto market. Significant digital asset-related deposit outflows were experienced in 2022 due to volatility in this market, and the collapse of other crypto-friendly banks contributed to the run on deposits at Signature Bank.

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• Commercial Banking: The U.S. commercial banking market size was estimated at USD 732.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 915.45 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.56%. Another estimate valued the U.S. commercial banking market at USD 231.9 billion in 2024, expecting it to reach USD 351.8 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 4.10%.
• Private Banking/Private Client Services: The United States private banking market was valued at approximately USD 108.96 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to USD 180.65 billion by 2030, demonstrating a CAGR of 8.79%. Another report indicates the U.S. private banking market size is projected to be USD 127.6 billion in 2025 and to rise to USD 218.4 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 8.0%. A different estimate places the U.S. private banking market at USD 59.54 billion in 2025, projected to reach USD 94.89 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 9.77%.
• Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Lending: Signature Bank was a significant provider of commercial real estate loans, particularly in New York City. While specific current addressable market sizes for CRE lending were not directly found in the provided search results as a standalone figure distinct from broader commercial banking, it formed a substantial part of Signature Bank's loan portfolio, which was approximately $75 billion at the end of 2022, including $28 billion in loans to private equity businesses.
• Fund Banking (Private Equity and Venture Capital): Signature Bank had a dedicated Fund Banking Division that provided financing and banking services to the private equity industry, which became its largest asset, representing 41% of its loan portfolio at the end of 2021. They also offered venture banking for the technology industry. Specific addressable market sizes for these niche banking services were not separately identified in the provided search results.
• Digital Asset Banking: Prior to its closure, Signature Bank was known for its Digital Assets Banking Group, which handled cash deposits and operating accounts for various digital asset-related businesses. As of March 8, 2023, nearly a quarter of Signature Bank's deposits were from the cryptocurrency sector. A specific market size for "digital asset banking" or "cryptocurrency banking" was not found in the provided search results.

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Share Repurchases

• Signature Bank repurchased $55 million of its common stock from the start of the first quarter of 2023 through March 8, 2023.
• As of the end of 2022, there was $450 million remaining under the bank's share repurchase authorization.
• The bank's share repurchase authorization was expanded to an aggregate amount of up to $500 million in April 2020, from $220.9 million remaining as of December 31, 2019.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures were -$48.32 million in the last 12 months prior to the bank's closure in March 2023.