First Republic Bank executives quietly sold nearly $12 million worth of shares in the past three months, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Chief Executive James Herbert II outsold any of the other pundits, offloading a whopping $4.5 million worth of stock since the start of the year.
In all, four of the struggling bank’s top executives have sold $11.8 million worth of shares so far this year, at average prices just below $130 a share, the Journal found.
Some of these sales came just days before the bank began to run into liquidity problems, as panicked investors sought to recoup their money after the fall of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
It is unclear whether the executives engaged in insider trading.
Company executives are now said to be considering a sale of the bank, as its shares plunged as much as 35 percent on Thursday.
Investors now worry about a pending recession, though Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen insisted Thursday that the US banking system depositors’ savings remain safe.’
Chief Executive James Herbert II dumped $4.5 million worth of First Republic stock in the first three months of 2023 alone
Robert Thornton, left, the bank’s president of private wealth management sold 73% of its outstanding shares for $3.5 million in his first deal since 2021, while chief credit officer David Lichtman, right, sold $2.5 million worth of stock over the course of three sales.
CEO Michael Roffler sold nearly $1 million in January after selling $1.3 million worth of shares in November.
The Journal found that Herbert made two sales in January and February, worth 7 and 5 percent of his stakes in the company, respectively.
At the same time, Robert Thornton, the bank’s president of private wealth management, sold 73 percent of its outstanding shares for $3.5 million in his first deal since 2021, and CEO Michael Roffler sold nearly $1 million in January. after having sold shares worth $1.3 million. in November.
Credit officer David Lichtman also sold $2.5 million worth of shares over the course of three sales since the start of 2023.
The last of those sales came on March 6, just two days before Silicon Valley Bank revealed it had lost $1.8 billion, triggering a massive run that forced SVB out of business.
Lichtman and his spouse had already sold another $2.5 million in November and December, the Journal reports, achieving the most sales in just a five-month period than ever before.
None of the executives’ sales filings indicate they were executed under 10b5-1 plans, which are pre-scheduled sales designed to protect business executives from insider trading allegations, the Journal notes.
But the trades went largely unnoticed, as First Republic is not required to report insider sales to the Securities and Exchange Commission, thanks to a provision of the Securities Act of 1933.
Instead, the executives’ transactions were reported to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which posts them on its website.
DailyMail.com has contacted First Republic for comment.
First Republic Bank is reportedly considering a sale as pressure mounts on small and midsize US banks following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Customers at First Republic Bank in Los Angeles spend Saturday lining up to withdraw money after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
Fears arose after SVB’s demise for the future of First Republic as analysts pointed to similarities between the estimated value of its assets and their actual value.
The bank’s shares rose again on Thursday as major banks consider taking over.
Following the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank last week, investors decided that First Republic was also vulnerable, as it had many unrealized losses on its bank balance sheet.
The fair value of his portfolio of assets was $26.9 billion less than their book value, the Journal reports, and the difference was well above the principal of $17.4 billion.
The risk for First Republic, as with any other bank, is that depositors can withdraw their cash faster than the bank can liquidate its assets, which typically include portfolios of loans and long-term bonds and mortgage-backed securities.
In a statement Sunday, First Republic said it had unused liquidity of more than $70 billion following additional liquidity injections from the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase.
“First Republic’s capital and liquidity positions are very strong, and its capital remains well above the regulatory threshold for well-capitalized banks,” Roffler and Herbert said in a joint statement.
But on Wednesday, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the bank’s bond rating to junk. And by Thursday, First Republic shares fell as much as 35 percent on Thursday before paring some losses amid reports the San Francisco bank is exploring strategic options, including a sale.
By noon, its shares were up 14.7 percent again.