By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: April 24, 2023
Give First Republic Bank an A+ for arrogance and an F for its ability to hold on to its customers’ deposits, despite all that incessant talk about how loyal they are.
The A+ for arrogance comes from the bank’s refusal to take even one question from reporters or bank analysts on today’s first quarter earnings call. The call began at 4:30 p.m. ET and lasted approximately 12 minutes. It was heavy on spin.
For example, a big effort was made to dress up the amount of deposits the bank still had on hand at the end of the first quarter, which is necessary if anyone is to believe the narrative that it has “retained 97 percent of client relationships” over the quarter. (The relationships may, indeed, still be there in some fashion but deposits have flown the coop.)