Too-big-to-fail to the rescue!

A group of major US banks has agreed to contribute $30 billion to First Republic Bank (FRB), aimed at boosting confidence in the banking system, following a meltdown in the beleaguered regional.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase have each agreed to deposit $5 billion in First Republic, while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will deposit around $2.5 billion, and Truist, PNC, U.S. Bancorp, State Street, and Bank of New York Mellon will each deposit approximately $1 billion. Here is a joint statement from all the banking behemoths.

The deposits are set to remain in the bank for at least 120 days, according to an announcement from First Republic.

FRB, which typically caters to high-end clients and firms, has seen its stock crater in recent days after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. It's a major fall from grace for the institution, which reported more than $212 billion assets at the end of December and generated more than $1.6 billion in net income last year.

An oddly brief joint statement by the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency merely says:

Today, 11 banks announced $30 billion in deposits into First Republic Bank. This show of support by a group of large banks is most welcome, and demonstrates the resilience of the banking system.

Despite the news, at publishing time, First Republic shares were down big in pre-market trading.

UPDATE 9:03 a.m.: It's getting worse...