JP Morgan Chase is set to take over the troubled US bank First Republic in a deal brokered by regulators.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) confirmed in a statement that First Republic Bank had collapsed on Monday.

Investment banking giant JP Morgan will take on all of the deposits and the majority of First Republic’s assets.

First Republic is the third US bank to collapse in recent months, which has prompted fears of wider banking crisis.

The San Francisco-based lender’s shares fell by more than 75% last week after it admitted that customers had withdrawn $100bn (£79.6bn) of deposits in March.

It follows on from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March and the demise of another US lender, Signature Bank.

In a scramble to come up with a rescue package for First Republic, US officials were understood to have contacted six banks, according to news agency AFP.

Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JP Morgan Chase said the government had “invited” the banking giant, along with others, to “step up, and we did”.

He added that the acquisition would “modestly benefit” the firm and would be “complementary” to the existing business.

JP Morgan will take on $173bn of loans, about $30bn of securities and $92bn of deposits from First Republic, it said in a statement.

source bbc.com