Former First Republic firm CEO Michael Roffler blamed the firm’s collapse on contagion from other regional bank failures and said authorities did not raise concerns about strategy, liquidity, or management.
Roffler indicated in his prepared testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday that over $100 billion in deposits were evacuated from the bank over weeks owing to industry-wide concerns about regional banks.
“We could not have anticipated that Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank would fail, or that the failure of those banks would trigger substantial deposit outflows at our bank,” he said.
He said DFPI and FDIC frequently reviewed First Republic’s finances and strategy.
California officials closed First Republic Bank on May 1. They sold their assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM.N) to end the banking turmoil.
