A group of Wall Street banks is planning a bailout package of at least $20 billion for First Republic Bank.
NEW YORK — A group of Wall Street banks is planning a bailout package of at least $20 billion for First Republic Bank, sources told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The bailout package comes as San Francisco-based First Republic has been battered by investors and concerns have grown that the midsize bank could be next to go, after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Sources familiar with the matter said that JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs are part of the group of banks putting together the package. It will likely consist of $20 billion in deposits and capital for First Republic, but could go as high as $30 billion.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the package was still being developed.
A First Republic spokesman declined to comment on the reports.
First Republic Bank shares wobbled as customers began withdrawing their deposits. But it was up more than 3% on Thursday after reports of the bailout package surfaced.
The news comes on the heels of last week’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which was the second-biggest bank failure in US history after Washington Mutual’s demise in 2008.
The closure of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday and New York-based Signature Bank two days later has revived bad memories of the financial crisis that plunged the United States into the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
Over the weekend, the federal government, determined to restore public confidence in the banking system, took steps to protect all bank deposits, including those in excess of the FDIC’s $250,000 individual account limit.
The White House had no comment Thursday on reports of the bailout package for First Republic Bank, which has more than $200 billion in assets.
