(Bloomberg) -- First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) tumbled to put shares on pace to close at a record low level, as the San Francisco-based bank is said to be exploring strategic options that include a sale.
The stock sank by as much as 36% in New York, extending a slide that had already erased more than $17 billion off its market capitalization this month. The firm that’s mulling a sale is also weighing options for shoring up liquidity, according to people familiar with the matter.
“Normally, a headline of a potential sale would support the stock,” Christopher McGratty, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette and Woods, wrote in a report. “However, the potentially significant deposit outflows post-SIVB failure likely leave FRC in a tough spot.”
“Any potential sale would likely be a tough outcome for existing shareholders, given mark-to-market accounting on loans,” McGratty wrote.
Investors across the banking space are on tenterhooks amid the upheaval in US regional lenders as well as the tumult surrounding Credit Suisse Group AG. Shares of the Swiss bank rebounded Thursday after it opened a $54 billion line of credit with the country’s central bank and offered to buy back debt. The European Central Bank delivered a planned half-point hike in interest rates on Thursday.
On Wednesday, First Republic shares sank 21% as its credit rating was cut to junk by S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Ratings and Fitch Ratings. The bank said Sunday that its total available unused liquidity to fund operations was more than $70 billion, from agreements that included the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
First Republic specializes in private banking and wealth management, and has tried to differentiate itself from Silicon Valley Bank. Several regional bank peers were down as well. PacWest Bancorp sank by as much as 16% and Western Alliance (NYSE:WAL) Bancorp slid 15%.
“First Republic’s options have narrowed following deposit outflow, a sharp share-price decline and recent downgrades from ratings agencies, while a potential sale of the bank could center on the attractive wealth-management business,” Herman Chan, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a note.