Arlington, Va.-based hedge fund EJF Capital LLC repositioned its exposure to the banking sector during the first quarter.

This article is part of a series on large institutional investors active in the US financial sector. All institutional investment managers active in the US with over $100 million in investments in Form 13F securities must file quarterly statements detailing their positions.

Exits

EJF exited 10 bank stocks in the first quarter, including SVB Financial Group, the parent company of collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank; Signature Bank, another failed lender; PacWest Bancorp; and Western Alliance Bancorp. PacWest and Western Alliance have both faced pressure from investors during the banking sector turmoil.

Entries

The majority of EJF’s entries were also banks, including Providence, RI-based Citizens Financial Group Inc., which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. disclosed was among the bidders for Silicon Valley Bridge Bank NA.

Biggest stock holdings

Insurance company Jackson Financial Inc. and financial technology company Pagaya Technologies Ltd. remained EJF’s top common stock holdings in the first quarter.

The rest of the 20 biggest holdings in its portfolio were banks, including Raleigh, NC-based First Citizens BancShares Inc., which has a history of purchasing failed banks and bought Silicon Valley Bridge Bank; and New York Community Bancorp Inc., which acquired certain assets and liabilities of Signature Bridge Bank NA.

These two companies were not among EJF’s top 20 common stock holdings in the previous quarter. EJF raised its stake in First Citizens to 4,128 shares as of March 31 from 2,509 shares as of Dec. 31, 2022, a 64.5% increase. The hedge fund also increased its shares in New York Community Bancorp in the first quarter to 466,000 from 450,000 in the preceding quarter.