Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

FDIC Investigating First Republic Bank Amid Bank Run Concerns: BrightScope CEO

Cointime Official

Mike Alfred, the co-founder and CEO of BrightScope, said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is currently on-site at First Republic Bank, working to determine the best course of action to protect depositors as a bank run has reached a tipping point. 

Alfred confirmed that First Republic Bank started limiting outbound wires on Saturday, and eventually stopped processing wires altogether by the end of the day.

"The previous wording when trying to wire out of First Republic on Saturday is 'wire will be sent first thing Monday'. Now the wording changed to 'thank you for your transaction we'll get back to you'". Alfred mentioned in another tweet.

The bank's business model relies on a "gentleman's agreement," where customers deposit close to 30% of the loan value in a deposit account with a 0% interest rate in return for large (mostly) real estate loans at below market interest rates. However, with higher interest rates, this dynamic has flipped, and there is little incentive for customers to tie up large deposits at zero interest.

Full thread:

BREAKING: The FDIC is already on site at First Republic Bank trying to determine the best path forward to protect depositors. Things are moving way faster than expected given the accelerating bank run that has already reached a tipping point.

Confirmed just now that First Republic started throttling outbound wires today.

Also by the end of the day today (Saturday) they stopped processing wires altogether.

The previous wording when trying to wire out of First Republic on Saturday is "wire will be sent first thing Monday". Now the wording changed to "thank you for your transaction we'll get back to you"

FRC's business model depends on a gentleman's agreement. Essentially, you deposit close to 30% of the loan value with FRC in a deposit account with a 0% interest rate in return for large (mostly) real estate loans at below market interest rates. This dynamic flipped with higher rates as there is little incentive to tie up large deposits at zero interest.

There is no way for FRC to legally enforce this gentleman's agreement when the customer wants to suddenly move their deposits after the real estate loan is already in force.

And so we're 100% clear, I have no position long or short in $FRC equity or options. I am simply sharing the corroborating evidence from several good sources. We will all learn a lot more about how this plays out on Monday morning.FDIC Investigating First Republic Bank Amid Bank Run Concerns

Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • Tevaera Closes $5 Million Funding Round to Create One-Stop Gaming Ecosystem Powered by zkSync's ZK Stack

    Tevaera, a gaming platform powered by zkSync's ZK Stack, has closed a $5 million funding round led by Laser Digital and Nomura Group. The funding will support Tevaera's mission to create a one-stop gaming ecosystem. The project has attracted prominent investors, including Hashkey Capital, Fenbushi Capital, and Crypto.com Capital. Tevaera has also launched a redesigned website and is preparing to introduce two new games and the first decentralized L3 gaming chain on zkSync.

  • The Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission’s official website has listed the Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs and stock codes of China Asset Management, Bosera and Harvest.

    Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission website has listed the Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs of three fund companies, Huaxia, Boshi, and Jiashi, with approval dates all on April 23, 2024. The related funds are not derivative product funds, specifically including:1. Huaxia Bitcoin ETF (BUU163) with share codes of 03042, 09042, and 83042;2. Huaxia Ethereum ETF (BUU164) with share codes of 03046, 09046, and 83046;3. Boshi HashKey Bitcoin ETF (BUU104) with share codes of 03008 and 09008;4. Boshi HashKey Ethereum ETF (BUU105) with share codes of 03009 and 09009;5. Jiashi Bitcoin Spot ETF (BUT244) with share codes of 03439 and 09439;6. Jiashi Ethereum Spot ETF (BUU885) with share codes of 03179 and 09179.

  • Correction: Nigeria’s central bank says “freezing Bybit, KuCoin, OKX, Binance user accounts” is unofficial

    The official X account of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stated that the announcement "the Central Bank of Nigeria will freeze Bybit, KuCoin, OKX, and Binance user accounts" is not an official release. Previously, according to Cointelegraph, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued an instruction requiring all banks and financial institutions to identify individuals or entities trading with cryptocurrency exchanges and ensure that such accounts receive no debit (PND) instructions within six months.

  • Bitcoin Conference to Bring Star-Studded Lineup of Speakers to Hong Kong on Dawn of Historic ETFs.

    Excitement is brewing in the heart of Asia as Hong Kong regulators pave the way for a new era of innovation with the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This groundbreaking development underscores Hong Kong's commitment to becoming a regulated hub for Bitcoin. At the same time, the Bitcoin Conference is bringing the best and brightest Bitcoiners from around the world to Hong Kong for Bitcoin Asia.

  • Alliance of 314: The X314 contract is suspected to have a hidden additional issuance switch, developers should pay attention to verification

    Alliance of 314 issued a statement claiming that the contract of a certain 314 project has not been open-sourced on the blockchain. As for whether other platforms have open-sourced their contracts, there is a misconception that open-sourcing on other platforms is self-submitted and does not necessarily mean that the contract is deployed on the chain, so there may be unknown hidden issuance. Additionally, the said 314 project announced that it will soon launch a trading platform, and the first requirement for logging into a centralized exchange is to open-source the contract. Open-sourcing is the first thing that any project should do to ensure investor confidence. Referring to the open-sourcing of the 0.1, 0.5, and 0.9 versions before, it can be concluded that there is hidden code in the X314 contract, and therefore it cannot be open-sourced out of fear. The biggest risk warning: after decompiling and querying ethervm, it is highly suspected that a certain 314 has a hidden issuance switch to increase mining pool output and arbitrage. The field is as follows: 0x40c10f19mint(address,uint256). The risk alert level for this switch is the highest level, and generally, ordinary developers do not set this switch.

  • Binance Founder Faces Potential Three-Year Prison Sentence and $50 Million Fine for Money Laundering and Sanctions Violations

    Binance founder Changpeng Zhao has been recommended a three-year prison sentence by federal prosecutors for violating federal money laundering laws and sanctions. The Department of Justice argued that this sentence would hold him accountable for his intentional criminal conduct and send a message to the world. Zhao made a "business decision" to break the law to attract users, build his company, and line his pockets, according to prosecutors. Along with the prison sentence, DOJ lawyers also requested that Zhao pay the $50 million fine he agreed to as part of a plea deal. Zhao, who is a citizen of the UAE and Canada, has been released on a $175 million bond but must remain in the U.S. until his sentencing on April 30.

  • Market News: South Africa authorizes 75 companies as cryptocurrency service providers

    According to Jinshi news, South Africa has authorized 75 companies as cryptocurrency service providers.

  • Indonesian President: $8.6 billion laundered through cryptocurrency in 2021

    According to Golden Finance News, Indonesian President Joko Widodo stated that he has noticed signs of money laundering through cryptocurrency in 2021, amounting to $8.6 billion (IDR 139 trillion). In addition to cryptocurrencies and NFTs, the president emphasized the need to monitor other potential money laundering tools, including virtual assets, market activities, e-currencies, and AI-driven transactions. Mahendra Siregar, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Committee, responded to the President's directive, stating that when cryptocurrency regulation is transferred to the OJK next year, his agency will supervise these issues.

  • BTC breaks through $67,000

    Tthe market shows that BTC has broken through $67,000 and is now trading at $67,025.99, with a daily increase of 1.12%. The market is volatile, please be prepared for risk control.