First Citizens’ high-volatility CRE loans doubled last year

Rise in 150%-weighted class of exposures largest among 260 US lenders

First Citizens Bank’s high volatility commercial real estate (HVCRE) exposures all but doubled last year, a development ostensibly disconnected from the bank’s acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March.

The bank’s exposures rose from $364 million at the end of 2022 to $719 million twelve months later. It was the single biggest rise in a sample of 259 banks with $1 billion or more in assets