Businessweek

First Republic Bank provides personalized, relationship-based wealth management services, including private banking, private business banking, investment management, trust, brokerage and real estate lending. The Bank operates in California, Nevada and New York City. The Bank originates real estate secured loans and other loans for retention in its loan portfolio. In addition, the Bank originates mortgage loans for sale to institutional investors or for securitization and sale in the secondary market. The Bank also generates fee income by servicing mortgage loans for these institutional investors and other third parties. The Bank’s sources of funds are its depository activities and advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLB). The Bank’s supplemental sources of funds are loan principal repayments, sales of loans, and periodic issuances of notes, preferred stock and common stock. The company’s deposit services comprise ATM rebate checking, money market checking, money market savings, passbook savings, and certificates of deposit. The Bank’s loan and deposit gathering activities are conducted in the metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Newport Beach and San Diego in California, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, Boston, Massachusetts and New York City, New York. The metropolitan regions of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Diego are among the wealthiest areas in California. The Bank offers investment advisory services through three subsidiaries that are registered investment advisory firms. Trainer Wortham manages equity and fixed income investments for high net worth, trust and foundation clients and is based in New York City and San Francisco. Froley Revy specializes in the management of convertible securities for institutional accounts and is based in Los Angeles. Starbuck Tisdale manages equities and fixed-income securities for individuals, trusts, endowments and pension plans and is based in Santa Barbara, California. In addition to the investment management activities of its three subsidiaries, the Bank’s wealth management segment includes: First Republic Trust Company, a division of the Bank that offers personal trust services; First Republic Wealth Advisors, a subsidiary that offers advisory services to high net worth clients; the Bank’s mutual fund activities; and the brokerage activities of First Republic Securities Company. In January 2006, the Bank completed the acquisition of First Signature Bank & Trust of Portsmouth, New Hampshire (First Signature), which expanded the Bank’s private banking and private business banking activities into New England. In October 2006, the Bank completed the acquisition of BWC Financial Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Bank of Walnut Creek (collectively, ‘BWC), which expanded the Bank’s business and private banking services and wealth management operations into the San Francisco East and South Bay regions. Lending Activities The Bank’s loan portfolio consists primarily of loans secured by single family residences, multifamily buildings and commercial real estate properties and loans to construct such properties. The Bank has originated a substantial portion of single family loans for sale in the secondary market, whereas historically a small percentage of apartment and commercial real estate loans have been sold. The Bank focuses on originating loans secured by a limited number of property types. The majority of the real estate loans that the Bank originates are secured by properties located with in 30 miles of one of the Bank’s offices. Additionally, the Bank offers specific loan programs for first-time homebuyers and borrowers with low-to-moderate incomes. The Bank’s single family loans are secured by single family detached homes, condominiums, cooperative apartments and two-to-four unit properties. The Bank offers a home equity line of credit program consisting of loans secured by first or second deeds of trust on owner-occupied primary residences. The Bank has originated a smaller amount of commercial real estate construction loans. The real estate securing