Deposits

The North Carolina company, which acquired the remains of Silicon Valley Bank in late March, is now taking steps to shore up its deposit base. Those efforts, which follow outflows tied to Silicon Valley Bank customers, include paying higher rates at its nationwide online bank.

Rock-bottom stock prices at midsize banks are fueling concerns that depositors could get spooked, and short sellers are drawing much of the blame. But their persistence may be exposing a broader lack of confidence in the industry.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is poised to exempt smaller lenders from kicking in extra money to replenish the government's bedrock Deposit Insurance Fund, and instead saddle the biggest banks with much of the bill.

Industry leaders had predicted that JPMorgan Chase's regulator-assisted purchase of First Republic would bolster investors' faith in the sector. But the stock prices of certain regional banks have continued to fall, prompting concerns that selloffs could lead to deposit outflows.

On one level, the failed bank's narrative mirrors the interest rate misplay and depositor panic at Bay Area neighbor Silicon Valley Bank. But it's also a deeply personal story about Herbert, who founded First Republic in the 1980s, championed its aggressive growth and failed in a last-ditch attempt to engineer a private-sector rescue.

Meow and Vesto are two firms that help companies invest idle funds in safe instruments such as Treasury bills.

Industry leaders hoped that the emergency sale of First Republic Bank would quell investors' fears, but many banks saw big stock price declines on Tuesday. The instability could put pressure on lawmakers and policymakers to take more decisive action.

Insured deposit caps are now practically meaningless, and current rules for setting deposit insurance premiums do little to block banks' excessive risk taking. There's a better way.

First Republic Bank was shuttered by regulators early Monday, and all its deposits and most of its assets were acquired by JPMorgan. San Francisco-based First Republic was undone by low-rate mortgages it made to its wealthy customers as well as by the fallout from last month's banking crisis.

About $2.9 billion of the deposits the company obtained from the failed Signature Bank had fled as of last week, and executives are forecasting that number to double. However, they say they're "cautiously optimistic" they can lure some deposits back.

Financial regulation scholar Mark Flannery said in a new research paper that small banks would be more likely to be negatively impacted.

The rush to onboard millions of business depositors in such a short period can strain bank resources, lead to mistakes, and cause some banks to fall behind in conducting due diligence on risky customers.

The Missouri bank was downgraded by credit rating agencies in the wake of last month's bank failures, but CEO Mariner Kemper is pushing back. "We have way, way overblown the impact of two failed banks," he said.

Some 77% of banks did not did not record significant deposit inflows or outflows following Silicon Valley Bank's failure, according to a survey of executives at 567 institutions. The findings highlight the stability of many smaller banks' deposit bases.

The California bank, which was hit hard by last month's banking crisis, has partially rebuilt its deposit base. It reported a first-quarter loss, but one that was smaller than some analysts expected.

CEO Rajinder Singh said battered competitors are "throwing off" both talent and customers, creating a chance for the Miami Lakes, Florida, bank to pick up new business.

Federal officials should have protected both banks' uninsured depositors by following the law's carefully designed framework for dealing with failures of systemically important banks.

The San Francisco bank, on shaky ground after two regional peers failed last month, said that customers pulled more than 40% of their deposits last quarter. It's been forced to turn to more expensive sources of funding, which analysts said will squeeze its profitability.

The Dallas-based company is intentionally shedding certain deposit relationships that don't align with its new business model. Total quarterly deposits fell 12.6% year over year, but they rose 1% after excluding the relationships targeted for reduction, according to the bank.

Main Street companies, particularly those owned by women and minorities, depend on the flexibility of community and regional banks for their survival.