Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed on Thursday that the Biden administration is closely observing the ongoing situation at First Republic Bank, and that the administration is prepared to intervene if necessary after a brutal sell-off following the Bank's disclosure on Monday that it had lost over $100 billion in deposits during Q1 of this year.
Jean-Pierre noted that deposit levels at regional banks have stabilized and reassured that the same measures employed by the administration in recent weeks can be utilized again to address financial stress if required.
In response to inquiries regarding whether or not similar protective measures would be applied for depositors at First Republic as with SVB and Signature, Jean-Pierre stated, "We have proven how we have moved really quickly in ... taking decisive and forceful actions in the past, and I can assure you that you'll see that again from this administration."
The Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and financial regulators concur that actions taken last month have ensured a stable U.S. banking system. These actions were implemented to safeguard depositors at two regional banks, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank while also providing liquidity to the market.
"We have used important tools to quickly stabilize the banking system. We could use those tools again, if needed. Certainly we are monitoring this situation," Jean-Pierre told reporters when asked about growing market worries about First Republic.
In spite of experiencing a significant sell-off earlier this week which led to a 60% decrease in stock value, shares of San Francisco-based First Republic traded higher on Thursday.