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Action by the largest U.S. banks reflects their confidence in the country’s banking system and helps ensure First Republic has the liquidity to continue serving its customers.
Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo announced today they are each making a $5 billion uninsured deposit into First Republic Bank.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are each making an uninsured deposit of $2.5 billion
BNY-Mellon, PNC Bank, State Street, Truist and U.S. Bank are each making an uninsured deposit of $1 billion, for a total deposit from the eleven banks of $30 billion.
This action by America’s largest banks reflects their confidence in First Republic and in banks of all sizes, and it demonstrates their overall commitment to helping banks serve their customers and communities. Regional, midsize and small banks are critical to the health and functioning of our financial system.
Following the receiverships of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, there were outflows of uninsured deposits at a small number of banks. America’s financial system is among the best in the world, and America’s banks – large, midsize and community banks – do an extraordinary job serving the banking needs of their unique customers and communities. The banking system has strong credit, plenty of liquidity, strong capital and strong profitability. Recent events did nothing to change this.
The actions of America’s largest banks reflect their confidence in the country’s banking system. Together, we are deploying our financial strength and liquidity into the larger system, where it is needed the most. Smaller- and medium-sized banks support their local customers and businesses, create millions of jobs and help uplift communities. America’s larger banks stand united with all banks to support our economy and all of those around us.
And here is the very brief joint statement from the Fed, Treasury and FDIC:
The following statement was released by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell, FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu. Today, 11 banks announced $30 billion in deposits into First Republic Bank. This show of support by a group of large banks is most welcome, and demonstrates the resilience of the banking system.
This bailout is very similar to the 1998 bailout of LTCM when fourteen banks and brokerage firms invested $3.6 billion in Long-Term Capital Management L.P. (LTCM) to prevent the firm’s imminent collapse; the bailout was orchestrated by - but did not involve - Fed funding. That said, LTCM was a hedge fund, and was not a direct competitor.
The bailout is also very different to what happened when Bear Stearns collapsed, as the Big Banks again tried, but refused to save Bear in 2008. And now they have agreed to inject $30BN in the form of unsecured deposits in First Republic, effectively backstopping the entire capital structure and making the equity money good, because they have explicitly guaranteed that no matter how bad the deposit run is, they will keep the bank funded (using deposits that just a few days ago may have been parked at First Republic).
The next question: why did the banks agree to this? Was it guilt that banks such as SIVB and SBNY collapsed because of their actions/behind the scenes negotiations with regulators? We don't know, but Wall Street is hardly known for being a good Samaritan, and if given the choice, banks would have opted to wait until the bankruptcy and pick choice assets for pennies on the dollar.
As one might expect, First Republic executives are relieved and expressed their thanks:
“We would like to share our deep appreciation for Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York Mellon, PNC Bank, State Street, Truist, and U.S. Bank. Their collective support strengthens our liquidity position, reflects the ongoing quality of our business, and is a vote of confidence for First Republic and the entire U.S. banking system”
Additionally, as previously announced, First Republic obtained additional liquidity through additional borrowing capacity. It has since drawn on this borrowing capacity following recent industry events.
As of March 15, 2023, the Bank had a cash position of approximately $34 billion, not including the $30 billion of uninsured deposits from Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York Mellon, PNC Bank, State Street, Truist, and U.S. Bank with an initial term of 120 days at market rates.
From March 10 to March 15, 2023, Bank borrowings from the Federal Reserve varied from $20 billion to $109 billion at an overnight rate of 4.75%.
Since close of business on March 9, 2023, the Bank has also increased short-term borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank by $10 billion at a rate of 5.09%.
Insured deposits from close of business on March 8, 2023 to close of business on March 15, 2023 have remained stable. Daily deposit outflows have slowed considerably. The Bank is focused on reducing its borrowings and evaluating the composition and size of its balance sheet going forward. Consistent with this focus and during this period of recovery, the Bank’s Board of Directors has determined to suspend its common stock dividend.