Biden promises that the banking system will be "safe and sound" after the collapse of the First Republic bank

MADRID, 2 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The US president, Joe Biden, has promised that the banking system will be "safe and sound" after the collapse of the First Republic bank, after the US regulatory services announced on Monday that JPMorgan has bought the assets.

"These actions are going to guarantee that the banking system is safe and sound, and that includes protecting small companies throughout the country that need to pay workers' payrolls," said the president, who added that in this way "they guarantee that all depositors are protected and taxpayers are not in a bind".

First Republic Bank this week became the third major bank to collapse in less than two months, after Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank collapsed. First Republic's shares went from trading at $122.50 on March 1 to just $3 last Friday and the intervention of the FIDC was already taken for granted.

"Let me be very clear, while depositors are being protected, shareholders are losing their investments and critically taxpayers are not on the hook, as I've said before," he said.

Shortly after the collapse of SVB and Signature in March, major US banks agreed to a $30 billion loan to First Republic at the request of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The entity began operations in 1985 with a single office in San Francisco and is known for hosting wealthy clients from the coastal states. It currently has 82 branches, according to its website, most of them in wealthy neighborhoods.