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Democrat Lawmaker Sold Stock In Collapsing Bank, Bought JPMorgan Shares Right Before Acquisition, Disclosures Show

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James Lynch Investigative Reporter
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Democratic Florida Rep. Lois Frankel sold stock in First Republic Bank as its share price plummeted, and bought JPMorgan stock soon before it purchased First Republic, disclosure forms show.

Frankel sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in First Republic stock on March 16 and purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 in JPMorgan stock on March 22, according to a periodic transaction report filed April 28. The transaction reports are mandated to be filed in a timely manner by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012 designed to prevent insider trading by Congressional lawmakers. (RELATED: Dan Crenshaw Invests In Big Tech Stocks Ahead Of New Congress)

Her First Republic stock was a subholding of a Morgan Stanley IRA account managed by MFS Investment Management, the report says. The JPMorgan stock is a subholding of a different Morgan Stanley IRA overseen by Anchor Capital Advisors LLC. (RELATED: Wall Street’s Democratic Lawmaker Has Conducted Hundreds Of Stock Trades Since Entering Congress, Disclosures Show)

“My account is managed independently by a money manager who buys and sells stocks at his discretion,” Rep. Frankel told the Daily Caller through a spokesperson.

Federal regulators took control of First Republic Bank on Monday and sold it to JPMorgan after the bank lost $100 billion in deposits, according to its April 24 earnings report. First Republic was the 14th largest commercial bank in the U.S. and its collapse is the second largest financial meltdown in American history, surpassing the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in March.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said it paid $13 billion to take over First Republic and sell it to JP Morgan. JP Morgan is also getting $50 billion in financing from the FDIC as part of the purchase.