SVB-owner First Citizens' profit beats estimates on interest income strength

April 25 (Reuters) - First Citizens BancShares' first-quarter profit beat expectations as the lender earned higher interest income and reaped the benefits of its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last year.

Adjusted profit attributable to common stockholders was $769 million, or $52.92 per share, for the three months ended March 31, the bank reported on Thursday, compared with analysts' average estimate of $43.32 per share, according to LSEG.

The Raleigh, North Carolina-based lender has been boosted by its buyout of SVB, which collapsed last year after a deposit flight spiraled out of control and led to the biggest banking crisis in 15 years.

Since SVB's collapse, banking giants including JPMorgan Chase and HSBC have tried to beef up their businesses catering to startups and venture capital firms.

"It's been over one year since SVB became part of First Citizens, and we continue to successfully execute on our integration efforts, which are accelerating the momentum of our franchise," CEO Frank Holding Jr. said.

First Citizens' net interest income - the difference between interest earned on loans and paid out on deposits - more than doubled from a year earlier to $1.82 billion and was above analysts' expectations of $1.81 billion.

Compared to the fourth quarter of last year, loans in the SVB Commercial segment jumped $335 million and net charge-offs, debts that are unlikely to be recovered, decreased by $31 million. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)