Following Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank, the Sword of Damocles came to the head of Western Pacific United Bank。

On May 11, U.S. bank stocks fell, and PacWest Bancorp fell more than 34% at the beginning of the session, triggering a meltdown mechanism.。Since this month, the stock price has dropped 53.69%, was cut in half, the whole year has fallen nearly 80%。

Familiar scene again。First Republic shares also fell sharply in April 74.91%, closing down to 3.$51, with a market capitalization that has evaporated about 98% from the $39.8 billion peak in 2021.。That month, according to the bank's quarterly report, the bank had only $104.5 billion in deposits by the end of the first quarter, a sharp drop of about $72 billion, or nearly 41 percent, from $176.5 billion at the end of last year, causing panic among investors.。

Just after April, on May 1, the bank was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), making it the second largest bank in U.S. history to fail.。

Deposit losses, poor management, plummeting stock prices, bank failures, such a script seems to be happening step by step with Westpac United Bank。

Last Thursday, Westpac uploaded a 10Q quarterly filing to the SEC。According to the documents, the bank lost about 9% of its deposits in the week from May 1 to May 5..5%, if 281 as of March 31.$8.8 billion deposit estimate, by a margin of about 26.800 million dollars。In response, the bank said it had used cash on its balance sheet to fill the gap in deposit losses and then pledged $5.1 billion of its assets to the Federal Reserve in exchange for $3.9 billion in additional liquidity。

Today, the bank also said that it could obtain $15 billion in immediate liquidity if needed, about three times the bank's uninsured deposit amount of $5.2 billion, i.e., enough available liquidity to finance potential withdrawals and protect against the risk of a run on depositors.。

It would be unfortunate if the deposits could be replenished, but it is an indisputable fact that the operations of Westpac United Bank are in crisis.。A person familiar with the matter said the bank had worked with a financial advisory firm to consider a spin-off or financing plan, and did not even rule out an option to sell itself。The source further noted that while the bank is open to a sale, the sale did not go well because not many potential buyers are interested in buying the entire bank and buyers may even have to account for a large impairment loss on the loan.。

Some analysts point out that two months after the collapse of Silicon Valley banks, the pressure of the banking crisis on medium-sized banks cannot be ignored: "Their battered share prices will exacerbate the concerns of their own customers."。Market fears that investor sentiment panic will shift to depositors through capital market performance, increasing the risk of a run。

As of last night's close in U.S. stocks, Westpac United Bank plunged 22.70%, closed at 4.690 USD。