Updates with stock close in paragraph 1, 2

By Arasu Kannagi Basil and Atharva Singh

June 11 (Reuters) - Forbright FRBT.O, founded by former U.S. Representative John Delaney, closed 0.6% higher in its Nasdaq debut on Thursday after raising $142 million in the first U.S. bank IPO this year.

Chevy Chase, Maryland-based Forbright shares opened at $17.50 apiece and closed at $18.10, giving the firm a market value of nearly $900 million.

June is off to a busy start for the IPO market as a slew of issuers rushed to list ahead of SpaceX's imminent blockbuster listing to avoid competing for investor attention.

Investors appear to have overlooked Forbright "with all the focus on SpaceX," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs, adding that overlooked deals can sometimes be winners in the long run.

"In terms of deal heat, bank IPOs are not the sexiest debuts either," added Kennedy.

Forbright traces its history to Congressional Bank, established in 2003 as a community bank serving the Washington D.C. area. Its platform now spans middle-market lending, digital consumer banking, strategic advisory and asset management.

The bank sold 7.9 million shares in the IPO at the low end of the marketed range of $18 to $20 each. It had a net tangible book value of roughly $19.14 per share as of March 31.

Delaney, Forbright's CEO, served three terms representing Maryland in the U.S. House before leaving Congress in 2019 to pursue an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination.

Forbright's growth accelerated after Delaney returned to the ​private sector. He led a $369 million equity infusion in 2021 from investors including Centerbridge Partners, Gallatin Point Capital and Bayview Asset Management.

Delaney previously founded and led two New York-listed companies — HealthCare Financial Partners and CapitalSource.

"The growth story is what sells the deal. That and the involvement from Delaney and institutional backers," Kennedy said.