US regulators seize California's First Republic Bank

SAN FRANCISCO, United States — US financial authorities have taken possession of California's troubled First Republic Bank, which will be acquired by JPMorgan Chase, government regulators announced Monday in the latest banking failure.

"To protect depositors, the FDIC is entering into a purchase and assumption agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Columbus, Ohio, to assume all of the deposits and substantially all of the assets of First Republic Bank," the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said (FDIC) in a statement.

JPMorgan will assume "all deposits, including those uninsured, and a majority of the assets," California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said.

First Republic had failed to come up with a workable rescue plan and last week disclosed that it had lost more than $100 billion in deposits in the first quarter, causing its shares to plummet.

The federal government stepped in with the FDIC, an agency in charge of guaranteeing bank deposits, and the US Treasury approaching six banks last week to gauge their interest in buying First Republic assets, a source told AFP last week on condition of anonymity.

With its assets standing at $233 billion at the end of March, First Republic would be the second largest bank to fall in US history -- excluding investment banks, like Lehman Brothers -- after Washington Mutual's bankruptcy in 2008.