JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are in talks to provide financial aid to First Republic Bank, report says

• JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley were in talks about providing financial aid to First Republic Bank, the WSJ reported. 
• Several other big banks are part of the talks, and a deal could include a sizable capital infusion to shore up the bank. 
• First Republic shares have plunged in recent sessions following the blow-up of Silicon Valley Bank. 

JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and other banks are in talks to provide financial aid to First Republic Bank, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, 

The potential move comes as fears about depositors pulling funds from the lender has ignited a steep sell-off in the bank's stock following Silicon Valley Bank's implosion.

A deal with the investment banks and several other big banks could include a sizable capital infusion to shore up the San Francisco-based lender, the report said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. 

First Republic is working on potential options including a capital raise in various forms. While a full takeover is possible, WSJ reported that some sources cautioned that a buyout route looked unlikely at this point. The final form of aid for First Republic remains highly uncertain. 

Any deal would require approval by regulators and would be driven partially by the bank's volatile stock, the report said. 

Shares of First Republic were down 25% following the report and coming off a late-morning trading halt. The stock had plunged 30% early Thursday after Bloomberg reported late Wednesday that the company was considering strategic options to bolster liquidity, including a sale to bigger banks.

First Republic on Sunday said its liquidity position remained "very strong," and in a regulatory filing, said it had received $70 billion of liquidity from the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase. 

First Republic shares have plunged about 80% year to date. Fierce selling erupted last week in First Republic as investors scoped out lenders with a hefty amount of deposits that would be uninsured by the FDIC. Silicon Valley Bank was seized after clients pulled funds after learning a jump in interest rates spurred billions in losses in SVB's bond holdings. 

First Republic had 68% of its deposits unprotected by the FDIC's insurance limit of $250,000 per account, according to the bank's latest 10-K filing. Silicon Valley Bank had about 94% of its total domestic deposits uninsured, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The lender's credit rating at S&P Global and Fitch Ratings was downgraded to junk territory Wednesday on risk of clients pulling deposits.