PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) — Philadelphia-based Republic First Bank was shut down by state regulators Friday night and its assets were transferred to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the FDIC announced in a news release. .
Republic Bank's assets will now be transferred immediately to Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Fulton Bank. Mr. Fulton will also accept all deposits.
Republic First Bank is a community lender operating in Pennsylvania., New Jersey and New York. The company, doing business as Republic Bank, had approximately $6 billion in assets and $4 billion in deposits as of Jan. 31.
Thirty-two Republic Bank branches will reopen as Fulton Bank branches on Saturday. Republic First Bank depositors will be able to access their funds via check and ATMs as early as Friday night, the FDIC said.
If you have a Republic Bank ATM, debit card, or check, you can continue to use it. If you have a loan with Republic, you should make payments as usual.
“Republic Bank depositors become Fulton Bank depositors, so customers do not need to change their banking relationship to maintain deposit insurance coverage,” the FDIC said. “Republic Bank customers should continue to use their existing branches until they receive notification from Fulton Bank that system changes have been completed that will allow them to process accounts at the branch.”
The bank's failure is expected to cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $667 million, but the FDIC said Fulton Bank's acquisition of Republic First Bank is the cheapest solution.
Anyone with less than $250,000 in an FDIC-insured bank account is protected even if their bank fails.
Why did Republic First Bank fail?
This financial institution is the first FDIC-insured institution to fail in the United States in 2024. The last bank failure occurred in November 2023 at Citizens Bank, based in Sac City, Iowa.
When the economy is strong, on average only four to five banks close each year.
Rising interest rates and declining values for commercial real estate, particularly office buildings grappling with high post-pandemic vacancy rates, have increased financial risk for many local and community banks. Refinances are becoming more difficult because outstanding loans are backed by properties that have declined in value.
Last month, a group of investors including Steven Mnuchin, Trump's Treasury secretary, agreed to contribute more than $1 billion to the relief effort. New York Community Bancorp under pressure This is due to growing pains associated with commercial real estate and the acquisition of failed banks.
How to contact the FDIC and Fulton Bank
Customers with questions about the acquisition can contact the FDIC at 1-877-467-0178, the FDIC said.
Call center hours are Saturdays from 9am to 6pm EST, Sundays from 12pm to 6pm, Mondays from 8am to 8pm, and subsequent days from 9am to 8pm. It's five o'clock.
