The Fed Is Helping Too

The First Republic Bank headquarters in San Francisco, California, US, on Saturday, April 29, 2023.

The acute phase of the deposit flight crisis has ended with the FDIC’s seizure of First Republic and sale to JPMorgan Chase. The events highlight how Fed policy has aided the biggest institutions. Still, expect commercial real estate to take center stage over deposit flight.

On the eve of the Fed’s next policy statement, everyone in Washington is talking more about “too big to fail” than monetary policy. Why? In two words, First Republic. That’s because JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank, is acquiring the failed institution’s assets. After months in which deposits have fled smaller regional banks for their larger brethren, the takeover makes clear that the largest financial institutions have a great advantage right now. And that’s in large part because of the Fed.