What Did JPMorgan Buy?
Key transaction elements following the FDIC’s competitive bidding process include:
- Acquisition of the substantial majority of First Republic Bank’s assets, including ~$173 billion of loans and ~$30 billion of securities
- Assumption of ~$92 billion of deposits, including $30 billion of large bank deposits, which will be repaid post-close or eliminated in consolidation
- FDIC will provide loss share agreements covering acquired single-family residential mortgage loans and commercial loans, as well as $50 billion of five-year, fixed-rate term financing
- JPMorgan Chase is not assuming First Republic’s corporate debt or preferred stock
Why It Matters. First Republic is the third and largest bank to fail this year, with Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank the first and second failures.
- Had JPMorgan or others not stepped in the alternative would have been receivership.
- Such a scenario would likely have led to asset sales at fire-sale prices and kicked off a negative contagion effect across markets.
Global Financial Crisis-esque? Much like the scenes from the Global Financial Crisis, U.S. regulators waited on market bids Sunday from those interested in taking over the ailing institution. The FDIC took control of FRB over the weekend, before overseeing the sale in what it describes as a competitive bidding process.
The Pool of Potential Bidders. Bank of America, Citizens Financial Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase, PNC Financial Services Group, and U.S. Bancorp were asked to submit offers. Bank of America and U.S Bancorp opted out of the bidding early on.
How Did We Get Here? The recent move by U.S. regulators on First Republic comes after a precipitous drop in the bank’s stock last week.
- First Republic hit a 52-week high of $171.09 on August 16, 2022 but fell to $2.99 last Friday (4/28/22).
- The recent decline put the market value of the company at around $650 million.
- The sharp valuation decline likely proved an attractive incentive for potential buyers of the bank
Recall that 11 banks deposited $30 billion into First Republic in March during the height of the SVB inspired crisis. In addition, the Fed launched an emergency lending facility that allowed banks to borrow against some of their holdings to meet any demands for cash, driven in large part by outsized deposit withdrawals from panicked depositors. Some of the potential bidders were members of the group of 11 banks that deposited $30 billion each into First Republic in March.
Why No Bids on Sunday?
The lack of bids on Sunday likely reflected a waiting game by potential bidders seeking aid from the government to assist in the purchase. Without a reasonable bid, regulators would have been forced to put the bank in receivership.
A Bloomberg report on Sunday suggested receivership is an outcome the FDIC would like to avoid because of the prospect it will inflict a multibillion-dollar hit to its own deposit insurance fund. Reports indicate that the FDIC is planning to impose a special assessment on the industry to cover the cost of SVB and Signature Bank’s failures in March.
Policymaker Reactions
- Top Republicans in Congress praised the private market rescue as opposed to a government-led bailout. Click here for House Financial Services Chairman McHenry’s statement and here for Senate Banking Ranking Member Scott’s statement.
- Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) criticized First Republic’s “risky behavior, unique business model, and management failures” and called for stronger guardrails. Brown’s sentiment echoes Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) tweet blaming deregulation and allowing a “poorly supervised bank to by snapped up by an even bigger bank.”