Karen Firestone, CEO, Aureus Asset Management First Republic Bank FRC-N SELL Mar 20, 2023

(Top Pick Jun 3/14, Up 24.02%) A fabulous bank. A bank you can own for a long, long time. There is speculation they might get taken out. Last year they announced they would pass 50 Billion in assets, but that meant absorbing a lot of costs to manage themselves. This was a buying opportunity. They need to beef up their reporting requirements. Silicon valley, California.

San Francisco based with a huge exposure to silicon valley. A mid-cap bank. They have grown loans and deposits by 20% each over the last 20 years. They just closed an acquisition that is attractive. They grow two to three times as fast as the typical US bank.

Share price has reacted to SVB news. If you want more safety, go to the bigger cap banks either in the US (JPM, BAC) or Canada, where our oligopoly structure is attractive.

Down 25% this morning and shares halted. The situation is changing constantly. He's watching it. Depositers are safe. Who will the bank merge with, etc? He has sold part of his position to a small holding. He will eventually decide whether to keep it or dump it.

She bought it as it spiked 50% (good), then the next day it fell (bad). It was a very small position. She expected the bank's deposits position to be contained, but it didn't.

Who cares? Their woes effect only FRC. We're past the point of the impact of other regional banks. The market has moved on.

Either the FIDC steps in or FRC becomes a zombie bank. Even if it survives as a zombie, FRC will pay so much interest that there won't be profits.