First Republic Bank Plunges 90%! S&P downgrades its rating to 'CC': default 'almost inevitable'

First Republic Bank plunged 90% on May 3, and S&P willFirst Republic Bankof junk-rated credit rating was further downgraded after regulators took over the bank and issuedJPMorgan ChaseSold its assets. S&P downgraded the bank to "CC" from "B +" and said it expected a default by First Republic Bank to be "almost inevitable"(Note: The First Republic Bank code has been changed from FRC to FRCB. First Republic Bank is trading on the pink sheet!)

With JPMorgan assuming the vast majority of First Republic Bank's assets, the bank is highly likely to default on any other senior financial debt given its insufficient remaining asset base, S&P said.

S&P also downgraded First Republic Bank's subordinated debt and the credit rating of preferred shares to "D" from "B-".