US-Based First Republic Bank Drops Over 50% In Pre-Market Trading After Silicon Valley Bank Collapse

Shares in US-based First Republic Bank dropped a whopping 52 per cent to $39 in pre-market trading on fears of contagion in the US banking system after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday.

First Republic Bank shares closed 15 per cent lower at $81.76 on Friday. Sellling pressure in pre-market trading indicates nervousness among investors towards banking space amid high interest rates and collapse of Silicon valley Bank, analysts said.

The financial institution best known for its relationships with high-flying world technology startups and venture capital, Silicon Valley Bank, experienced one of the oldest problems in banking — a bank run — which led to its failure on Friday.

Its downfall is the largest failure of a financial institution since Washington Mutual collapsed at the height of the financial crisis more than a decade ago. And it had immediate effects. Some startups that had ties to the bank scrambled to pay their workers, and feared they might have to pause projects or lay off or furlough employees until they could access their funds.

How did this happen? Here’s what to know about why the bank failed, who was affected most, and what to know about how it may, and may not affect, the wider banking system in the U.S.

Silicon Valley Bank was hit hard by the downturn in technology stocks over the past year as well as the Federal Reserve’s aggressive plan to increase interest rates to combat inflation.

The bank bought billions of dollars worth of bonds over the past couple of years, using customers’ deposits as a typical bank would normally operate. These investments are typically safe, but the value of those investments fell because they paid lower interest rates than what a comparable bond would pay if issued in today’s higher interest rate environment.

(With AP inputs)