First Republic Bank’s week of harrowing stock drops and urgent work towards a deal to shore up its balance sheet ended with the lender’s fate in limbo.
The Federal Deposit Insurance, keeping tabs on the bank’s deposits and funding, hasn’t reached a decision on intervening at the troubled lender, according to sources.
Some senior officials there expect the company's management will continue pursuing talks for a private-sector deal to bolster its finances.
Still, the FDIC’s position could change if there’s an unforeseen development.
Meanwhile, larger lenders have started preparing for the possibility that the government seizes First Republic and asks them to bid on the bank or its assets, the sources said, describing confidential preparations.
While banks have been reluctant to put up money to rescue the company in recent days, some are keen to make offers if it’s auctioned.
JPMorgan Chase and PNC Financial Services Group are among the big banks vying to buy First Republic in a deal that would come after a government seizure, the Wall Street Journal reported late Friday, citing sources.
A seizure could take place as soon as this weekend, the newspaper said.
A spokesperson for the FDIC said late on Friday that the agency doesn’t comment on “operating institutions”.
Representatives for California’s banking regulator, which would take the lead in deciding whether the San Francisco-based lender has failed, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
“We are engaged in discussions with multiple parties about our strategic options while continuing to serve our clients,” a spokesperson for First Republic said in a statement at the close of regular business in California.
We are engaged in discussions with multiple parties about our strategic options while continuing to serve our clients
First Republic Bank spokesperson
The company’s stock plunged by more than half at one point on Friday amid renewed concern that the FDIC might seize the bank.
A few proposals for an industry-led rescue have surfaced in recent days. But they have yet to yield any deal.
With the stock down 97 per cent this year, bankers and regulators have been stuck in a standoff, with both sides seeking to avoid steep losses and hoping the other will handle the troubled company.
A group of 11 banks that deposited $30 billion into First Republic last month to give it time to find a solution have proved reluctant to invest in the company itself, even if that means they might lose some cash in their accounts.
Some stronger companies are waiting for the government to offer aid or put the bank in receivership, a resolution they view as cleaner — and potentially ending with a sale of business lines or assets at attractive prices.
But receivership is an outcome the FDIC would prefer to avoid in part because of the multibillion-dollar hit to its own deposit insurance fund.
The agency is already planning to impose a special assessment on the industry to cover the cost of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank’s failures last month.
Weighing on First Republic’s balance sheet is a mountain of low-interest loans, including an unusually large portfolio of jumbo mortgages to wealthy clients. Such debts have lost value amid interest-rate hikes.
The collapse of SVB in March stoked concerns about the soundness of regional lenders with such holdings, prompting wealthy depositors and businesses with uninsured deposits to yank their money. First Republic was left paying more for funding than it earns on many of its assets.
Still, the bank’s executives emphasised in an earnings report this week that the company has ample cash reserves to continue meeting clients’ needs.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillian, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
