Biology of Business

First Republic Bank

Banking · Founded 1985 · Defunct 2023

By Alex Denne

First Republic's May 2023 seizure and sale to JPMorgan made it the second-largest bank failure ever and third in two months. The bank served wealthy clients with jumbo mortgages; when SVB collapsed, depositors fled despite no obvious credit problems. The mechanism failure was deposit concentration in flighty clients.

Key Leaders at First Republic Bank

Jim Herbert

Founder/Chairman

Key Facts

1985
Founded