First Republic Bank (OTCPK:FRCB) got slapped with a second insider-trading probe, this time by the Justice Department, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was looking at whether any senior executives at First Republic (OTCPK:FRCB) made stock trades based on inside information before it got seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., stemming from outsized customer withdrawals and falling asset prices, and then sold to JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
In addition to investigating whether any staff at First Republic (OTCPK:FRCB) used insider information in stock transactions during its recent collapse, the Justice Department is also scrutinizing the bank’s financial disclosures, the people told Bloomberg, adding that the probe is in an early stage.
It’s unclear which employees were the focus of the inquires, the article said, and no one has been accused of wrongdoing.
Neither the Justice Department nor JPMorgan immediately responded to Seeking Alpha’s request for comment.
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