Two months after purchasing the embattled lender, First Citizens has chosen to fire roughly 500 Silicon Valley Bank employees.

A round of layoffs is reportedly taking place at Silicon Valley Bank, which First Citizens Bank and Trust Company purchased after Silicon Valley Bank's bankruptcy sent ripples across the US regional banking market. Two months after purchasing the troubled institution, First Citizens has chosen to fire roughly 500 Silicon Valley Bank employees.

Almost all of the layoffs, according to a report by Axios that cited numerous sources, were made in SVB's commercial banking division. No "client-facing" or support staff roles were removed, according to the email First Citizens CEO Frank Holding Jr. issued to all of the workers.

According to the article, the layoffs would affect fewer than 3% of First Citizens' whole workforce.

Given the difficulties SVB encountered earlier this year, according to Harding Jr., it has become increasingly obvious that they must decide how to "right-size" its scope and scale in order to remain competitive.

“As a result, we are taking difficult but necessary actions to ensure that our workforce and costs are appropriate for a bank our size. That means that some members of our team will be transitioning out of the business effective today,” said Harding Jr in the mail, as per the report.

The news website has previously reported that the troubled bank's situation had not improved much since the First Citizens deal. Many commercial bankers have quit, including 40 who joined HSBC and 20 who joined MUFG. According to the report, which cited sources, First Citizens never got around to performing the due diligence that is typical in such mergers.

According to those who spoke with the website, First Citizens saw this as a business opportunity but did not have a clear strategic vision or integration plans. The Silicon Valley Bank, which specialised in startups, became the biggest bank to fall since the 2008 financial crisis. Markets crashed as a result of the bank's abrupt failure, wiping out billions of dollars that belonged to investors and businesses. Following the fall, customers gathered outside the Menlo Park branch of the bank in the Bay Area. The bank was swiftly taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), who granted depositors complete access to their protected funds.