The three US banks that collapsed this year – First Republic, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York – had more combined assets under management than all 25 federally-insured lenders that failed in 2008 at the onset of the Great Recession.
The US banking sector was dealt another blow when the FDIC stepped in to seize control of First Republic — marking the second-largest bank failure in US history by assets — and to sell it to JPMorgan Chase.
As of the end of last year, First Republic had approximately $213 billion in assets under management. SVB had $209 billion in assets under management as of last Dec. 31, while Signature Bank had roughly $110 billion under its control.
When combined, the three failed banks held a whopping $532 billion in total assets.
Meanwhile, the 25 banks with FDIC insurance that failed in 2008, including one-time industry giant Washington Mutual, had $526 billion in combined assets at their points of collapse when adjusted for inflation, according to the New York Times.
The sum does not include failed investment banks, such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Still, it provides an indication of the brutal hit to the US banking sector this year as large regional lenders face pressure from a rapid uptick in interest rates.
First Republic came under immense pressure this year following the earlier collapses of SVB and Signature Bank – which prompted a flurry of deposit outflows as worried customers pulled their money out of regional banks.
JPMorgan Chase acquired First Republic overnight in a government-led deal, following weeks of speculation about whether the troubled lender would be able to survive the turmoil.
As part of the deal, JPMorgan Chase assumed control of approximately $173 billion of loans and approximately $30 billion of securities held by First Republic.
The FDIC said its seizure of First Republic prior to the sale would result in a roughly $13 billion hit to its Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), which backstops deposits at insured banks across the country.
“Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did,” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. “Our financial strength, capabilities and business model allowed us to develop a bid to execute the transaction in a way to minimize costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund.”
First Republic failed despite an earlier rescue effort that saw the nation’s largest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, pour in $30 billion in a bid to stabilize the lender.
First Republic, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York currently rank as the second, third and fourth-largest bank failures in US history. Washington Mutual still ranks first, with $307 billion in assets under management when it failed in 2008.
President Biden addressed the sale of First Republic during a White House event on Monday – and call for stricter supervision of the banking sector.
“I’m pleased to say that regulators have taken action to facilitate the sale of First Republic Bank to ensure that all depositors are protected and taxpayers are not on the hook,” Biden said.
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