Democrat Sold First Republic Stock, Bought JP Morgan Before Collapse

Representative Lois Frankel recently sold shares of First Republic Bank as well as purchased stock in JP Morgan, which on Monday took over First Republic following its collapse.

First Republic Bank (FRC) was seized by California regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase (JPM), which will now assume responsibility for its debts and assets, on Monday. Shares in First Republic, a San Francisco-based bank founded in 1985, fell more than 75 percent last week after the bank announced that depositors withdrew $100 billion in March.

The collapse comes amid weeks of turmoil in the U.S. banking industry. In March, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank both failed, setting off concerns about potential looming widespread financial troubles. Following the SVB collapse, First Republic's stock quickly began to drop, prompting an attempted rescue from several larger banks, which deposited $30 billion into the institution but ultimately failed to stop its collapse.