First Republic worked hard to woo rich clients. It was the bank's undoing

First Republic worked hard to woo rich clients. It was the bank's undoing
(Image: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
By Noah Buhayar, Jennifer Surane, Max Reyes and Ann Choi In America’s richest enclaves, word spread quickly: A bank was offering loans on sweet terms.Wealthy homebuyers and property investors with high incomes and sterling credit scores could get a mortgage from First Republic Bank with a rock-bottom rate for several years. Better yet, they didn’t have to start repaying the principal for a decade. Across Manhattan, the San Francisco Bay area and Southern California, those terms attracted legions of wealthy clients &nd...

More Finance

Life insurance market shrinks
Finance Risky Business

Life insurance market shrinks

Foreign firms dominate as affordability, tax and access barriers stymie growth.

Michael Neilson 18 Sep 2025
Craigs beefs up in Hawkes Bay, eyes further expansion
Finance

Craigs beefs up in Hawkes Bay, eyes further expansion

Craigs looks to further expansion as it confirms the Somerset Smith Partners deal.

Staff reporters 18 Sep 2025
Court funding miss ‘undermines market confidence’
Finance

Court funding miss ‘undermines market confidence’

Plenary and Infrastructure NZ wrote to ministers over PPP ‘disappointment’.

Oliver Lewis 17 Sep 2025
Phasing out $6b capital layer unlikely to dent banks’ ratings
Finance

Phasing out $6b capital layer unlikely to dent banks’ ratings

Banks’ credit ratings likely unmoved if Additional Tier 1 capital phased out. 

Andy Macdonald 17 Sep 2025