Bank Touted By Jim Cramer As ‘Very Good’ Reportedly Considers Sale Among Other Options

San Francisco-basedFirst Republic BankFRC is reportedly weighing strategic options following the rout in the lending sector triggered by the collapse ofSilicon Valley BankSIVB .

What Happened: First Republic, which received a junk rating fromS&P Global Ratingsand Fitch Ratings on Wednesday, is considering a sale among other options, which include shoring up liquidity, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

First Republic Bank did not immediately respond to Benzingas request for comment.

See Also:A Look At First Republic Banks Chart Following SVB Financial Collapse

A sale could draw interest from larger rivals, Bloomberg quoted its sources as saying, adding that no decision has been made yet and the bank could choose to remain independent.

Why It Matters: First Republic said on Sunday that ithad more than $70 billionin unused liquidity to fund operations from agreements that included theFederal ReserveandJPMorgan Chase & Co.

Celebrity stock picker and CNBC hostJim Cramertweeted on Tuesday that First Republic was a bargain buy, expressing surprise that a big broker wasnt interested in it.

Last week, he said First Republic was his new focus and was avery good bank, although its stock tanked as much as 15% following news of SVBs collapse.

On Wednesday, Cramer tweeted: We are never going to be able to protect banks that have highly concentrated deposit bases when a couple of big depositors flee. Or we would never have had such a decline in First Republics stock.

We are never going to be able to protect banks that have highly concentrated deposit bases when a couple of big depositors flee. Or we would never have had such a decline in First Republic’s stock. Enough until the a.m. or whenever Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) March 15, 2023

Price Action: FRC shares tumbled over 20% to $31.48 on Wednesdays regular hours, but gained 2.8% in extended trading, according todata from Benzinga Pro.