JPMorgan Chase buys First Republic Bank post-government takeover.

Ben ZeisloftMay 2, 2023

JPMorgan Chase Takes Over First Republic Bank After Turmoil in Financial Sector

First Republic Bank, headquartered in San Francisco, California, has collapsed due to recent turmoil in the financial sector. The company mainly caters to wealthy clients with account balances above the $250,000 deposit threshold backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Customers have been withdrawing their funds in recent weeks as the recent implosions of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank rattled account holders, prompting FDIC officials to secure insured and uninsured deposits at the two failed companies to decrease the risk of bank runs at other institutions.

JPMorgan Chase Acquires First Republic Bank

JPMorgan Chase, already the largest bank in the United States and the largest bank in the world by market capitalization, has acquired all of the $103.9 billion in deposits and “substantially all” of the $229.1 billion in assets maintained by First Republic Bank. The offices controlled by First Republic Bank will open on Monday as branches of JPMorgan Chase, where depositors can continue conducting business. FDIC officials agreed to a loss share agreement with respect to single-family residential mortgages and commercial loans, while JPMorgan Chase will not assume First Republic Bank corporate debt or preferred stock.

Impact on Deposit Insurance Fund

The Deposit Insurance Fund, which the FDIC finances with bank fees and uses to cover insured deposits after the collapse of financial institutions, will lose $13 billion as a result of the First Republic Bank implosion, adding to the nearly $20 billion decrease incurred amid the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

What’s Next?

The FDIC takeover and JPMorgan Chase acquisition comes days after the first quarter earnings report for First Republic Bank showed that deposits at the company had decreased from $176 billion on December 31 to $104 billion on March 31. The latter amount of deposits included a $30 billion loan provided by large financial institutions such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup, as well as JPMorgan Chase, a deal the federal government enabled to maintain the solvency of First Republic Bank.