Blank check firm Porticoes Capital is reportedly planning to buy up failed U.S. banks. The firm’s sponsors aim to attract hundreds of millions of dollars from investors.
The group aims to take over banks that have been closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Financial Times reported, citing a regulatory filing.
According to the report, Porticoes is like a SPAC in that it would need to acquire another company before going into business. But it differs from a SPAC in that the amount it raises from investors will depend on the size of the bank it acquires.
The report also theorizes that Porticoes’ plan to target failed banks suggests it anticipates more trouble for the industry after last year’s regional banking crisis, kicked off by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
The report also notes that the FDIC normally likes to sell failed banks to other banks, so that everything remains under the watch of regulators. It’s a system that has kept out private investors. Porticoes was able to gain access via a “shelf charter” from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Read more.
