Leading US banks have joined forces to deposit US$30bn into First Republic Bank in an attempt to bolster its finances and contain the fallout from the collapse of two big lenders, Silicon Vallye Bank and Signature Bank, in the past week.
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will each deposit US$5bn into First Republic, a California-based lender.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) will put in US$2.5bn each while BNY Mellon (NYSE:BK), PNC Bank, State Street, Truist and US Bank are committing US$1bn apiece as part of the agreement.
“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,” the banks said in a statement on Thursday.
However, some investors were not impressed. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman wrote on Twitter that the co-ordinated action to bolster First Republic was a “fictional vote of confidence” and that “FRB default risk is now being spread to our largest banks”.
Separately, in a sign of the turmoil in the banking sector, the Federal Reserve lent US$160 billion during the week to March 15 across its discount window and new emergency facility.
Data released by the US central bank on Thursday showed usage for the discount window had jumped to a record high of US$152.85 billion, a surge of US$148.3 billion in the five days to Wednesday.
Lenders also borrowed US$11.9 billion from the Fed’s Bank Term Funding Program, a new scheme launched on Sunday.
– Proactive Investors Limited