London Daily

Focus on the big picture.

FDIC prepares to place First Republic under receivership

FDIC prepares to place First Republic under receivership

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is preparing to place First Republic Bank (FRC.N) under receivership imminently, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, sending shares of the lender down nearly 50% in extended trading.

The U.S. banking regulator decided the troubled regional lender's position has deteriorated and there is no more time to pursue a rescue through the private sector, the source told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the matter is confidential.

U.S. officials have coordinated urgent talks to rescue the lender in recent days as private-sector efforts led by the bank's advisers have yet to reach a deal, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

The FDIC, Treasury Department and Federal Reserve are among government bodies that have orchestrated meetings with financial companies about putting together a solution for the troubled lender, two of the sources said.

The FDIC asked banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and PNC Financial Services Group (PNC.N) to submit final bids for First Republic Bank by Sunday, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.

The banking regulator reached out to banks late Thursday seeking indications of interest, including a proposed price and estimated cost to the agency's deposit insurance fund, the report said.

The FDIC said in an email: "We would not comment on or confirm whether we are bidding an open institution," in response to a request for comment.

PNC Financial declined to comment on the Bloomberg report. JPMorgan did not immediately respond to a voicemail and email seeking comment.

Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that JPMorgan and PNC are vying to buy First Republic following its seizure by the government, which could come as soon as this weekend.

If the San Francisco-based lender falls into receivership, it would be the third U.S. bank to collapse since March. First Republic said this week its deposits had slumped by more than $100 billion in the first quarter.

Shares of the bank closed down 43%, worsening a stock rout that has wiped out 75% of its value this week. The stock lost more than half of its value on Friday and touched a record low of $2.99.


At its lowest, the bank had a market capitalization of nearly $557 million, a far cry from its peak valuation of more than $40 billion in November 2021.

Shares of some other regional banks also fell, with PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) down 2% after the bell while Western Alliance (WAL.N) was down 0.7%.

News of the imminent move to put First Republic in receivership came the same day the Federal Reserve and FDIC detailed their supervisory lapses before deposit runs caused the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March.

The Fed's assessment of its inadequacies in identifying problems and pushing for fixes at Santa Clara, California-based SVB came with promises for tougher supervision and stricter rules for banks.

Large banks had orchestrated an earlier lifeline for First Republic, injecting into the bank $30 billion in combined deposits from U.S. banking heavyweights, including Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N), Citigroup Inc. (C.N), JPMorgan and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N).

But First Republic struggled to find support from larger banks or private equity firms on its proposed move to create a so called "bad bank" or sell assets such as securities and its mortgage book.

The large banks who placed the deposits either declined to comment or were not available to comment.

First Republic, which reported its first-quarter earnings on Monday, had said it plans to shrink its balance sheet and slash expenses by cutting executive compensation, paring back office space and laying off 20% to 25% of employees in the second quarter.

John Guarnera, senior corporate analyst at RBC BlueBay Asset Management, said the First Republic case is an "evolving situation."

"The rest of the regional bank system feels like it's in a different place than where FRC is," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

London Daily
0:00
0:00
Close
Israel Warns France of Iranian Threats at Paris Olympics
Possible Successors to Rishi Sunak as Conservative Party Leader
Olaf Scholz to Run for German Chancellor Again in 2025
TikTok Fined by UK Regulator for Child Safety Data Reporting Failures
Miracle Baby Born After Gaza Airstrike
Global Tech Outage Caused by Bug in CrowdStrike's Software
Ukrainian FM Open to Peace Talks with Russia, China Reports
EU to Transfer Interest from Frozen Russian Funds to Ukraine
Greenpeace Co-Founder Paul Watson Arrested in Greenland
EU Relocates Summit to Punish Hungary over Orban's Ukraine Visit
Netanyahu Seeks Meeting with Trump During Washington Visit
World's Hottest Day Recorded on July 21
UK Labour Government To Halt Migrant Housing on Accommodation Barge
President Biden Returns to White House After Testing COVID Negative
Trump Says Kamala Harris Would Be Easier Election Opponent Than Biden
Thousands Protest in Mallorca Against Mass Tourism
Immigration Crackdown Targets Car Washes and Beauty Sector
Nigeria's Controversial Return to Colonial-Era National Anthem
Hacking Vulnerabilities: Androids vs. iPhones
Ukraine Crisis Should Be EU's Responsibility, Says Trump’s Envoy
A Week of Turmoil: Key Moments in US Politics
Barrow's Sacred Heart Primary School Faces Long-Term Closure
German National Sentenced to Death in Belarus
Elon Musk's Companies Drop CrowdStrike After Global Windows 10 Outage
US Advises India on Russian Ties Amid Geopolitical Shifts
Trump Pledges to End Ukraine Conflict if Reelected
Global IT Outage Unveils Digital Vulnerabilities
Global IT Outage Sparks Questions About Financial Accountability
CrowdStrike Bug Affects 8.5 Million Windows Devices
Flights Resume After Major Microsoft Outage
US Criticizes International Court's Opinion on Israeli Occupation
CrowdStrike Update Causes Global IT Outage Due to Skipped Quality Checks
EU’s Patronizing Attitude Towards Africa Revealed
Netanyahu Denounces World Court Ruling on Israeli Occupation
Adidas Drops Bella Hadid Over Controversy
Global Outage Caused by CrowdStrike Update Impacts Millions
Massive Flight Cancellations Across the U.S. Due to Microsoft Outage
Global Windows Outage Causes Chaos Across Banks, Airlines, and More
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Using Chemical Weapons
UK's Flawed COVID-19 Planning Exposed by Inquiry
Ursula von der Leyen Wins Second Term as European Commission President
Police Officer Injured in Attack in Central Paris
Hulk Hogan absolutely tore it up at the RNC.
Paris is being "cleansed" of migrants and homeless people ahead of the Olympics.
Lamine Yamal arriving at his school after winning the Euros
Campaigners Urge UK Government to Block Shein's London IPO
UK Labour Government's Legislative Agenda
UK Labour Government to Regulate Powerful AI Models
Record Heat Temperatures in Ukraine Amid Power Crisis
UK Government Plans to Remove 92 Hereditary Peers from House of Lords
×