Is the worst of the banking crisis over or has it just begun?

Following Monday’s First Republic crash — the third bank failure in the past two months — pundits and consumers alike were curious to see if it signaled the end of the turmoil, or the start of a deepening crisis.

Despite JPMorgan Chase buying out the bank, shares of several regional lenders fell early in the week, sparking fears that more banking pain could be to come.

Officials announced Monday that they are closing San Francisco-based First Republic Bank after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank crumbled in March.

While experts have urged calm and say consumers shouldn’t worry that we’re headed for a similar crisis in 2008, there are suggestions that greater instability could lead to even more heartache for medium-sized companies.

Late last month, credit rating agency Moody’s also downgraded 11 regional banks, including Zions Bank, Western Alliance Bank and Bank of Hawaii. The company specifically cited fears for commercial real estate portfolios, with medium-sized banks bearing the brunt of high interest rates and market stress.

A deal was announced on Monday that will allow for an orderly failure of First Republic, following the announcement that JPMorgan Chase has bought the bank.

Following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this year, the bank collapsed after investors left the institution and withdrew their shares in large numbers.

While financial markets were calmer as the bank headed for bankruptcy, savers fled regional lenders Monday for fear of more banks.

The KBW Regional Banking Index, an index of smaller regional lenders in the US, lost 2.7 percent to hit a session low.

Shares of Citizens Financial Group, PNC Financial Services Group, Truist Financial Corp and US Bancorp fell between 3 and 7 percent.

Valley National Bancorp, which owns Valley National Bank, lost more than 20 percent.

It comes after Moody’s downgraded 11 regional banks on April 21, including the now-collapsed First Republic Bank, whose equity rating was downgraded.

In March, the credit rating agency reported that it was assessing six banks for possible downgrades following the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank.

The downgrades hit lenders including U.S. Bancorp, Zions Bancorp and Bank of Hawaii Corp.

Western Alliance Bancorp received a two-notch downgrade.

Moody’s expressed concern that regional banks are more exposed to the commercial real estate market, which has been hit hard by higher interest rates.

Medium-sized banks are the country’s largest lenders for projects such as apartment buildings, office towers and shopping malls.

According to the New York Timesvacancy rates are rising across the country and office buildings are empty as more staff work from home.

More than $1 trillion in commercial real estate loans will mature before the end of 2025, and as banks tighten their underwriting obligations, many borrowers may struggle to refinance their debts, the outlet reports.

However, some experts believe that any immediate fallout from First Republic is under control.

“From the beginning, when Silicon Valley started to collapse, the screens were run and the weak players were identified,” Steve Biggar, an analyst who reports on JPMorgan at Argus Research, told the outlet. “I think the closure of First Republic on this point should allay a lot of the concerns about the banking crisis. All these banks are now in stronger hands.’

Thanks in part to stricter regulations introduced in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, fewer banks have failed.

But higher interest rates have eroded the value of assets on banks’ balance sheets, straining the financial system and making it more difficult for banks to repay depositors if they decide to withdraw their money.

In addition, the three U.S. banks that have failed so far this year are greater than the 25 that failed in 2008, data shows.

The three banks had a combined total of $532 billion in assets, which is more than the $526 billion of all U.S. banks that collapsed in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, according to the New York Times and adjusted for inflation. .

First Republic had about $213 billion in total assets, and late last year the Federal Reserve ranked it 14th among U.S. commercial banks.

Silicon Valley Bank, meanwhile, had total assets of $209 billion, while Signature Bank had $110 billion, bringing its combined total assets to $532 billion.