first Republic Bank led a decline in bank shares Monday that came even after regulators’ extraordinary actions Sunday evening to backstop all depositors in failed Silicon Valley Bankand Signature Bank and offer additional funding to other troubled institutions.
San Francisco’s First Republic shares lost 70% in premarket trading Monday after declining 33% last week. PacWest Bancorp dropped 37%, and Western Alliance Bancorp lost 29% in the premarket. Zions Bancorporation shed 11%, while KeyCorp fell 10%. Bank of America lost 6% in premarket trading, while Charles Schwab tumbled 20% early Monday.
The Federal Reserve created a new Bank Term Funding Program that will offer loans up to a year to banks in return for high quality collateral like Treasurys. The central bank also eased conditions at its discount window.
First Republic said Sunday it had received additional liquidity from the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase. The bank said the move raises its unused liquidity to $70 billion, before any funding it could get from the new Fed facility.
“First Republic’s capital and liquidity positions are very strong, and its capital remains well above the regulatory threshold for well-capitalized banks,” said founder Jim Herbert and CEO Mike Roffler in a statement.
