First Republic Bank’s membership in the S&P 500 Index could be in jeopardy after the troubled bank’s stock set a new all-time low on Wednesday that briefly pushed its market capitalisation below $1 billion. 

The stock, which rose slightly on Thursday, plunged 64 per cent over the two prior sessions after the troubled lender’s earnings report showed a nosedive in deposits and raised further questions about its survival. At roughly $1.2 billion, First Republic has by far the smallest market cap in the S&P 500 after wiping out more than $21 billion in market value. 

Companies must have a market cap of at least $12.7 billion to be considered for inclusion in the S&P 500, which has more than $15 trillion of investment assets tracking it. 

“Given that the market cap has come down and that the business model is changing and the outlook for the company has changed so materially, it would not be surprising to see it swapped out of the S&P 500,” Wedbush analyst David Chiaverini said in an interview. 

However, companies can fall below the threshold for inclusion and still stay in the index, said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. While he declined to comment on First Republic specifically, he said companies do not have to maintain profitability or market capitalisation standards to continue to be included. 

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“Getting in is one thing,” Silverblatt said, but staying in is different. A spokeswoman for S&P Dow Jones said they cannot comment on potential index additions or deletions.

Under siege

First Republic shares have been under siege for more than a month following the collapse of SVB Financial Group’s Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March, both of which were also removed from the S&P 500.

Its earnings report Monday showed a 41 per cent drop in deposits during the quarter. And the firm is reportedly exploring divesting $50 billion to $100 billion of assets. 

If the company were to be removed from the S&P 500, it would likely further the stock’s tailspin given the range of funds that track the index and would be forced to sell the shares. 

“To the extent that it gets kicked out of the S&P 500, that would lead to additional selling pressure on the stock,” Chiaverini said. “It would be technical and temporary, but nonetheless, a number of shareholders that previously were owning it would no longer own it because they would essentially have to rebalance their funds out of it and into whatever one gets put in in its place.”

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