In an emergency government-led intervention, JPMorgan Chase & Co. won the bidding to acquire First Republic Bank after unsuccessful private rescue efforts failed to close a hole on the ailing lender’s balance sheet.
The assets of First Republic, totalling $92 billion in deposits, $173 billion in loans, $30 billion in securities, and more, will be ceded to JPMorgan.
The agency said in a statement early on Monday that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which oversaw the sale, and JPMorgan have agreed to split any losses and gains on the company’s single-family and commercial loans.
The development came a few weeks after First Republic disclosed that during a panic last month, customers withdrew more than $100 billion from the accounts they had opened. This disclosure increased worries that the First Republic wouldn’t be able to exist independently.
First Republic follows Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, both of which experienced runs last month and were taken over by the government.
As with Silicon Valley, a significant share of First Republic’s deposits were uninsured, which made it more prone to withdrawals from skittish customers.
In a rare move, 11 of the nation’s largest financial institutions gave First Republic $30 billion in deposits last month to prop up the troubled bank.
First Republic is the third bank to undergo a run since last month, when Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank did so and were taken over by the government.
Like Silicon Valley, a sizable portion of First Republic’s deposits were not insured, making it more vulnerable to withdrawals by wary clients.
Eleven of the biggest financial institutions in the country took a remarkable step last month and provided First Republic with $30 billion in deposits to support the struggling bank.
Federal representatives from the FDIC, Treasury Department, and Federal Reserve met privately with other banks on Friday, according to Reuters, to arrange a private rescue for the First Republic. However, no private rescue decision was reached.
Over the weekend, takeover discussions went on in the hopes of reaching an agreement before the U.S. stock markets opened on Monday.
The bank entered FDIC receivership with about $233 billion worth of assets. Since January, its shares have fallen by 97 per cent, devaluing the First Republic Bank by more than $21 billion.
