Report: JPMorgan, PNC submit bids to buy troubled First Republic Bank

Banking giant JPMorgan Chase and PNC Financial Services on Sunday submitted bids to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to buy First Republic Bank, according to a published report.

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The Wall Street Journal, citing “people familiar with the matter,” said the two banks submitted bids to the FDIC, which is preparing to seize and sell First Republic.

Final bids were reportedly due at 4 p.m. EDT, CNN reported. The winning bidder could be announced by late Sunday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sunday’s bidding came after the San Francisco-based bank’s shares fell 75% since April 24, The New York Times reported. That is when the bank revealed that customers had withdrawn more than half of its deposits, according to the newspaper. The stock has lost 97% of its value since that initial slide, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The rush to withdraw by First Republic customers came after the March 10 failure of Silicon Valley Bank, The Wall Street Journal reported. First Republic customers pulled out more than $100 billion in deposits in a few days, according to the newspaper.

The Times, also citing an anonymous source, said that Bank of America had been considering a bid. According to the newspaper, its sources requested anonymity because the process is confidential.

First Republic had $233 billion in assets at the end of the first quarter of 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal. It would be the second-largest bank to fail in U.S. history, the newspaper reported.

Stocks for First Republic tumbled from $122.50 per share on March 1 and closed at $3.51 a share on Friday.

Spokespersons for First Republic and the FDIC declined to comment to the Times and The Wall Street Journal.

JPMorgan Chase, PNC and Bank of America were among 11 large banks that temporarily deposited $30 billion into First Republic in March in order to prop up the bank, the Times reported.

JPMorgan and PNC have stepped up before during banking crises. JPMorganChase bought Bear Stearns in 2008 and then acquired Washington Mutual after it was seized by the federal government, The Wall Street Journal reported.

During the 2008 financial crisis, PNC bought Cleveland lender National City Corp. with government assistance. according to the newspaper.