SEC Said To Probe If First Republic Executives Engaged In Insider Trading Ahead Of Collapse

First Republic Bank collapsed this week and was placed under Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation receivership. The assets and deposits of the bank were then sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM.

The SEC is investigating whether any members of First Republic's executive team indulged in insider trading before the government seizure, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The identity of the executives who are on the SEC radar wasn't clear, it added.

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The report also said no one, previously or currently, employed at the bank has been accused of wrongdoing and the investigation could end without anyone being implicated.

When Silicon Valley Bank went down under, Bloomberg reported an SEC scrutiny into executives' trading activity in the stock.

The regional banking space is going through a crisis of confidence, as skeptical depositors fled these smaller banks depriving them of the much-needed liquidity to support operations.

The Invesco KBW Bank ETF KBWB Index ended Friday’s session at $38.69, up 4.57%, according to Benzinga Pro data.