US Banks Launch $30 Billion Rescue Plan To Avert SVB-Like Collapse For First Republic Bank

Eleven of the biggest banks in the US including PMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and others announced a $30 billion rescue package for First Republic Bank

In a bit to prevent a third bank in the US to fail, eleven of the biggest banks in the United States on Thursday announced a $30 billion rescue package for First Republic Bank.

It appears that the California-based bank with deposits totalling $176.4 billion as of December 31 was facing a similar crisis, according to the news agency AP report. It could be the third US bank to fail in less than a week.

Signature Bank, a New York-based lender with a significant number of crypto clients, also closed down following action by New York state financial regulators.

First Republic also caters to similar clientele as Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed last week after depositors pulled back almost $40 billion. In a statement, the group of banks revealed that other unnamed banks had witnessed large amounts of withdrawals of uninsured deposits, which are those that exceed the $2,50,000 level insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

First Republic's shares nosedived more than 60 per cent on Monday, even after the bank said it had secured additional funding from JPMorgan and the Federal Reserve.

On Thursday, the shares were down as much as 36 per cent but surged after reports came in about the rescue package and closed nearly 9 per cent up.

Which banks are bailing out First Republic?

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will be put $5 billion in uninsured deposits into the First Republic. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs would deposit $2.5 billion each into the bank. The remaining $5 billion would consist of $1 billion contributions from BNY Mellon, State Street, PNC Bank, Truist and US Bank.

"The actions of America's largest banks reflect their confidence in the country's banking system," the banks said in their statement.

The nation's banking regulators also issued a statement on the rescue package. "This show of support by a group of large banks is most welcome, and demonstrates the resilience of the banking system," said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg.

Silicon Valley Bank was the second biggest bank failure in US history since the failure of Washington Mutual in 2008.