Pennsylvania-based Fulton
Bank,
National
Association
of
Lancaster, has
agreed
to
assume
most
of
the
deposits
and
assets
of Republic
First
Bank,
which
state
regulators
seized
on
Friday
to
“protect
depositors.”
 

Republic
collapsed
after
it failed to raise
$75
million in
capital
from
investors
and
exited
the
mortgage
lending
space.
It
also
comes
after
last
year’s
failures
of First
Republic
Bank, Silicon
Valley
Bank and Signature
Bank. 

According
to
bank
regulators,
Republic’s
32
branches
in
New
Jersey,
Pennsylvania
and
New
York
are
now
operating
under
the
Fulton
Bank
brand,
with
depositors
transitioning
from
the
failed
bank
to
the
acquirer. 

“Customers
of
Republic
Bank
should
continue
to
use
their
existing
branches
until
they
receive
notice
from
Fulton
Bank
that
it
has
completed
system
changes
that
will
allow
its
branch
offices
to
process
their
accounts
as
well,”
the


Federal
Deposit
Insurance
Corp.
(FDIC),
the
appointed
receiver,
explained
in
a
statement. 

The
FDIC
estimates
that
the
cost
related
to
the
failure
will
be
$667
million. 

Fulton
is
purchasing
$6
billion
in
assets
from
Republic,
including
its
$2
billion
investment
portfolio
and
$2.9
billion
in
loans. 

Republic
had
an
active
business
that
specialized
in
jumbo
mortgage
products.
In
a
presentation
last
year,
the
bank
said
it
“had
aggressive
rates,
higher
risk,
and
lower
risk-adjusted
rates
of
return
than
other
asset
classes.” 

In
July
2023,
the
bank
said
that
to
enhance
efficiency
and
streamline
operations,
it
reduced
its
presence
in
New
York
and
exited
the
mortgage
banking
business.
Ultimately,
it
originated
about
$50
million
in
mortgages
in
2023,
per
mortgage
tech
platform Modex.

Meanwhile,
Modex
shows
that
Fulton’s

mortgage
production
was
about
$1.2
billion
in
2023,
with
most
of
it
being
conventional
(74%)
and
purchase
(65%)
loans.
The
bank
had
766
loan
officers
as
of
Monday,
according
to
the Nationwide
Multistate
Licensing
System (NMLS). 

Republic
Bank
is
adding
$5.3
billion
in
liabilities
to
Fulton,
which
includes
$4
billion
in
deposits.
The
volume
almost
doubles
the
acquirer’s
presence
in
the
Philadelphia
market,
with
combined
deposits
of
nearly
$8.6
billion. 

Fulton
claims that
the transaction
also
reduces
its
loan-to-deposit
ratio
from
99%
to
92%,
improving
its
liquidity.
 

“With
this
transaction,
we
are
excited
to
double
our
presence
across
the
region,”
Curt
Myers,
Fulton
chairman
and
CEO,
said
in
a
statement.  

All
regulatory
approvals
have
been
obtained,
including
from
the Office
of
the
Comptroller
of
the
Currency.  

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