SVB Financial Group said on Sunday it has reached an agreement to sell its investment banking arm SVB Securities to a group led by Jeff Leerink and backed by funds managed by Popost Group.

A group of bidders led by Leerink, CEO of SVP Securities, will buy the investment banking business in a combination of cash, an inter-company bond and a 5% equity instrument, the company said.

Collapsed lender Moffett Nathanson, the firm’s research firm, said it was not included in the deal and would “remain part of the company”.

The deal comes after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)’s takeover of Silicon Valley banks in March wiped out more than half the market value of several regional lenders in the U.S. as depositors scrambled to get their money back in a bank run. It unleashed the worst banking crisis since 2008.

First Citizens bought all of the failed bank’s loans and deposits in March, putting about $90 billion in bonds up for sale to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

“The lender continues to evaluate strategic alternatives for its unit, SVB Capital, and the company’s other assets and investments,” he said.

SVB’s collapse in March reverberated around the world, prompting US depositors to flee smaller banks in search of bigger banks, while a blow to confidence pushed Credit Suisse into the arms of rival UBS. (Reuters)