First Republic Bank's Deposit Flight Sends Shares Plunging.

First Republic Bank faces a tough challenge to recover its business after losing over half of its deposits, with shares dropping 20% in premarket trading. The bank reported a more than $100 billion plunge in deposits in the first quarter, following the biggest crisis to hit the banking sector since 2008. Analysts expect challenges to extend through the year after two US bank failures last month created a liquidity crunch at a slew of regional lenders. The bank plans to shrink its balance sheet and cut expenses by cutting executive compensation, paring back office space, and laying off 20%-25% of employees in the second quarter.