First Republic’s Billions In Losses Show Why Bank Deposits Need More Protection

“We experienced unprecedented deposit outflows,” said the First Republic Bank CFO on Monday. The news had just hit that First Republic suffered a massive $100 billion plunge in deposits in the aftermath of the meltdown of Silicon Valley Bank.

This shaved 50% off First Republic shares on Tuesday, down to the $8 range. Today FRB plummeted another 30% to under $6 per share, valuing the business at a $1 billion market cap. That’s smaller than many of Arc’s fintech banking peers… And keep in mind that FRB stock was near $150 a share in February, at $115 in early March—and down to $12 by March 20, post-SVB.

First Republic already had taken a $30 billion bailout from J.P. Morgan Chase and other giants, in the wake of the collapse of SVB and then Signature Bank SBNY -3.9%, and the rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS Group.