First Republic Bank

First Republic, founded in 1985 by Jim Herbert,[6] began operations on July 1, 1985,[1] as a California-chartered industrial thrift.[7] First Republic went public on the NASDAQ in August 1986 at $10 a share, just over a year after it began operations.[8] In 1993,[9] First Republic purchased Silver State Thrift, a thrift in Nevada.[7]

In 1996, First Republic sought out options to expand product offerings by shifting to a banking charter. The thrift enlisted a law firm, Lionel, Sawyer and Collins, to lobby the Nevada Legislature to pass a law allowing conversion of a Nevada thrift into a Nevada state-chartered bank.[7] The law passed in July 1997, shortly after First Republic completed a reverse merger of the larger California-chartered thrift into the Nevada-chartered Silver State Thrift subsidiary.[7] After the passage of the law, the Nevada thrift became a state-chartered bank, First Republic Savings Bank.[10]

On January 29, 2007, First Republic announced they would be purchased by Merrill Lynch for $1.8 billion.[11] The company was to be operated as a separate business of Merrill Lynch.[12] The Merrill transaction was finalized on September 21, 2007. Robert J. McCann, president of Merrill's Global Wealth Management group stated their purpose was to accelerate their strategy of "growing our high net worth, private banking business."[13] Over the same weekend that Lehman Brothers Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, on September 15, 2008, Merrill Lynch and its subsidiaries were acquired by Bank of America.[14]

In October 2009, just under 50% of First Republic was purchased by two private equity firms, Colony Capital and General Atlantic, and a group of other investors that included chairman James Herbert and former COO Katherine August DeWilde. The price was valued at about $1 billion. Both equity firms had prior relationships with First Republic Bank. Thomas J. Barrack, Jr., the head of Colony, had been a board member prior to the Merrill Lynch deal and General Atlantic had been an early investor in the firm putting up about $5 million in 1987.[15] The deal was consummated on July 1, 2010. The London-based news service reported that an additional $800 million was provided by the new investment consortium to meet new capital requirements established by U.S. regulators.[16]

In 1998, it acquired Trainer Worthman & Co., and in December 2001, it acquired Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates for $13 million in cash and stocks.[17] In January 2000, First Republic acquired an 18 percent interest in Froley, Levy Investment Company Inc., and in 2002, it purchased the investment firm for $17 million in cash and stock.[17] In December 2010, the bank completed its second IPO for $280.5 million, with shares opening at $27.25.[18]

In 2015, First Republic purchased Constellation Wealth Partners for $115 million.[19][20] By April 2016,[21] First Republic had opened branches at the Facebook and Twitter Inc. headquarters in Silicon Valley.[22] It also had various high-profile customers.[23] Barron's in September 2016 listed First Republic Bank at 21 on its list of America's Top 40 Wealth Management Firms.[20] By December 2016, First Republic Bank had $68 billion in assets.[24]

In December 2016, the bank acquired Gradifi, a startup in Boston, for an unknown cash amount.[25][24] Then two years old, Gradifi works with companies to help their employees pay off student debt,[24] and First Republic had become a client in August 2016.[25] Becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of First Republic,[25] Gradifi continues to operate in Boston under its own name.[24][25] Gradifi retained its customer base including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Natixis Global Asset Management and Penguin Random House.[25]

Remaining a large American bank,[26] in March 2018, the bank invested in CommonBond, a student loan financier.[27] First Republic announced it would expand into Jackson, Wyoming, in May 2018 with a new branch.[28] Also that month, First Republic signed a deal to double its space at Rockefeller Center in New York City.[29]

First Republic opened a trust company in Delaware in 2012 and an investment office in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2013.[30][31]

In June 2018, Forbes ranked First Republic #220 on its Global 2000 list of "growth champions." Forbes also ranked it #268 on America's largest public companies. With 5,350 employees at the time, First Republic had a market cap of $14.32 billion[32] and wealth management assets totaling $126.2 billion.[33] In 2019, First Republic opened an investment office in Washington D.C.[34] In January 2020, First Republic announced the opening of a Wyoming-based trust company.[35] At the end of 2021, First Republic had $279.4 billion in wealth management assets.[36] Currently, First Republic Bank has over 80 bank locations in 11 states across the U.S. These locations are primarily in New York, California, Massachusetts, and Florida.[37]

Note: The financial data for the total revenue, net income, assets, and dividends per common share is sourced from the company's annual reports, earnings releases, and SEC Form 10-Ks from 2009 to 2021. Total revenue: [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] Net Income: [48][49][50] Assets: [51][49][50] Market cap: [52] Average Stock Price: [53] Dividends per common share: [49][54][55][56]