First Republic Bank, which suffered a 40 percent fall in customer deposits in Q1 and a 96 percent year-to-date fall in its share price, will be placed under FDIC receivership over the weekend, according to those familiar with the matter.
Michael Lee, Founder of Michael Lee Strategy and a former Morgan Stanley VP, said, “I don’t see how First Republic opens as First Republic on Monday morning.”
In an interview with Michelle Makori, Lead Anchor and Editor-in-Chief at Kitco News, Lee claimed that the U.S. has not seen the last of the banking crisis, which started in March with the closure of three banks: Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature.
“You’ll see a lot less small savings banks, across the country,” he forecast. “We could get the number of banks [across the U.S.] cut in half, just from consolidation… that collapse in lending that you’re going to see countrywide is what is going to slow the economy down. It’s what is going to get inflation under control.”
A Boon for Gold?
As the economy weakens and a “financial calamity” sets in, Lee sees gold reaching higher prices and potentially even hitting $5,000 per ounce, as its role as a crisis hedge kicks in.
“I believe something bad is going to happen,” he explained. “At that point, if you get a meaningful breakout in gold, the cycles two-and-a-half times the previous high… so I think $2,000 takes us close to $5,000.”
https://www.kitco.com/news/2023-04-28/First-Republic-meets-its-end-financial-calamity-will-send-gold-above-5k-Michael-Lee.html