First Republic to close its last remaining branches
First Republic Bank will cease to exist in signage and style on May 24 when the remaining 62 branches nationwide close to complete the San Francisco bank’s takeover by JP Morgan Chase, the New York corporation has confirmed.
The closure includes the 25 remaining branches in the Bay Area, bank officials said.
Customers will be alerted by mail that their First Republic accounts will convert to JP Morgan Chase over Memorial Day weekend, with immediate access to bank branches and ATMs. The branches will close on Friday afternoon, May 24.
The rebranding will mark the end of a once high-flying bank known for its green and gold livery with the eagle logo and its motto, “It’s a privilege to serve you.” First Republic failed in 2023, leaving 84 branches nationwide in limbo.
According to Chase spokesperson Jerry Dubrowski, 15 of the 25 Bay Area branches will close for good, and the other 10 will be remodeled and reopened either under the existing Chase brand or under a new format called JP Morgan, focusing on the affluent clients who were a trademark of First Republic.
The First Republics that will permanently close are within 1 mile of an existing Chase Bank, and have been marked for closure by signs in the windows. These include branches in Los Altos, Cupertino, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Danville, and four locations in San Francisco, Dubrowski said.
The first First Republic that will open as a new JP Morgan branch will be the flagship headquarters branch at 111 Pine St. in San Francisco, which has already closed for remodeling. It will open sometime this summer, coinciding with a rebranding of the First Republic branch on Columbus Circle in New York City.
No date has been given for the debut of JP Morgan. Other Bay Area First Republic branches to get the JP Morgan branding will be in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Napa and the Laurel Village shopping strip in San Francisco, Dubrowski confirmed.
“These new branches will serve clients across banking, lending and wealth, and will offer the best of both worlds — the strength and scale of JPMorgan Chase and First Republic’s commitment to exceptional client service,” said Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, in a statement.
Begun in San Francisco in 1985, First Republic Bank became known for its fullpage glossy magazine ads that featured well-known Bay Area customers touting the service they received. It sought out high net-worth customers and placed branches in communities where the affluent could be found. It also could be counted on to sponsor openings for the performing arts in San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area.
All of that changed when interest rates started to rise in 2022 and 2023 and the bank found itself squeezed between the new paltry interest it was earning on investments and the higher rates depositors were now demanding.
First Republic’s credit was downgraded, and its once high-flying stock crashed, wiping out investors. The bank ultimately failed, making it the second largest bank collapse in U.S. history, after Washington Mutual in 2008. First Republic was resuscitated in an auction of its assets conducted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. JP Morgan Chase won the auction in a $10.6 billion deal last April. All deposits were protected regardless of whether they exceeded the FDIC ceiling of $250,000.
At first, employees of First Republic, with 84 locations nationwide, told their customers it was business as usual and nothing would change under the new ownership, but soon enough it did. By September, 22 of the 84 locations nationwide had closed, including 12 in the Bay Area.
No date was given for the First Republic branches to be reopened under the Chase brand.