The largest banks in the United States want to put a total of more than US$25 billion into First Republic, sources told The Wall Street Journal, as its stock price plummeted and depositors pulled their funds following the news of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse. The U.S. government is supporting the effort, sources told Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse, which faced similar problems, said it would borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs from the Swiss National Bank in a move “to pre-emptively strengthen its liquidity.” (The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters)

Talking point: Both banks saw their shares recover from significant drops amid fears of SVB contagion. First Republic’s shares were trading up over 10 per cent on news of the deal, while Credit Suisse’s closed up more than 19 per cent after its loan was announced. First Republic is reportedly exploring options that include a sale. S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings both cut the bank’s rating to junk Wednesday as it experienced a wave of account withdrawals. SVB itself, meanwhile, is likely to be sold to another major bank, and its venture capital arm, in particular, is considered attractive.