US prosecutors probe trading by First Republic's former employees - Bloomberg Law (updated)

First Republic Bank

24/05/2023 21:11

(Adds details from the report in paragraphs 2 and 4, context on
First Republic collapse in 3 and 6)
       May 24 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are reviewing stock
trading by some of First Republic Bank's employees during the
lender's recent collapse, Bloomberg Law reported on Wednesday,
citing people familiar with the matter.
    The Justice Department is looking at whether anyone working
at the firm used inside information in transactions as it was
crumbling, the report added. 
    Regulators seized First Republic and sold its assets to
JPMorgan Chase & Co  JPM.N  in early May, in a deal to resolve
the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis.
        The probe, which is at an early stage, is also
scrutinizing the company's financial disclosures, Bloomberg Law
reported.
  
    In late March, Massachusetts regulators also opened an
investigation into sales of company stock by top executives at
First Republic in the weeks leading up to the recent banking
turmoil.
        Spokespersons for the Justice Department and JPMorgan
declined to comment. 
  

 (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Chris Prentice in
New York; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
 ((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com;))