The San Francisco-based bank will receive $30 billion from its bigger counterparts, according to a joint statement from federal financial regulators, with $5 billion each coming from Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will each throw in $2.5 billion.
“The actions of America’s largest banks reflect their confidence in the country’s banking system,” the group of 11 banks said. “Together, we are deploying our financial strength and liquidity into the larger system, where it is needed the most.”
The federal agencies called the bank-to-bank bailout a welcome “show of support” that “demonstrates the resilience of the banking system.”
First Republic has faced severe pressure from investors and customers after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) over the weekend. Like SVB, First Republic is based in Northern California and holds a significant amount of uninsured deposits, which triggered alarms among analysts.
The swift private sector action to save First Republic has helped soothe some concerns about a growing banking crisis. Even before the bailout was announced, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought to reassure Americans that things were OK.
“I can reassure the members of the committee that our banking system is sound, and that Americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them,” Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.
But are we really in the clear?
“This is a situation that is driven by fear, and that brings out adrenaline, and depositors can’t fight, so they flee. Any additional sign of anything even a little scary could start this up again,” said Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner at Federal Financial Analytics.
We have more on what you need to know about this week’s banking crisis at TheHill.com.
