First Republic has been my primary bank for over 5 years as I've travelled the world full time, depending upon the ATM Rebate checking account and Visa debit card for all of my daily financial needs. Drawing money from dozens of various banks and ATM machines across 9 countries, I've only had the card seriously fail me twice (verses just being rejected due to unknown reasons). The first time was my fault for neglecting a travel notice, and FRB remedied the problem immediately upon my phone call. The second time was an apparent chip failure, and FRB responded promptly by sending me a new card in Mexico within 6 days - eating the $50+ FedEx fee themselves.
Except for a one time website change that forced a new unwanted password upon the customers, I've had very few problems accessing the website from overseas (with no VPN required), no mistakes in transactions, and easy access to all documents. Even for this senior citizen, online banking has been smooth and easy.
Travel notices have been easy to do online (up to 60 days at a time by oneself), and my Visa card rejections have been zero except for one ATM incident. Even then, the card worked for 2 transactions before snagging me for being in the wrong country.
FBR's only flaw for me has been payment of little to no interest like the other major banks (versus some that will pay .5-1% more, regardless of Fed fund rates). This discourages any large deposits. However, it is one of the few banks or credit unions in the country accommodating serious travelers, thanks to it's 0 intl transaction fees, 0 FX currency exchange fees, and world wide, unlimited ATM fee reimbursements. I try not to test the bank's tolerance level since a bank can close any account for no reason, but so far FBR has reimbursed me all ATM fees faithfully with no hassles - sometimes up to $30-40 a month. These travel friendly features have compensated for low interest rates.
Finally, there's no comparison in customer service between FBR and a typical bank. I return to my local branch every other year for a casual meet with my personal banker, enjoying fresh chocolate chip chip cookies, a drink, no lines, and no big wall of windows. I get to have an unhurried sit down at a desk and be treated like a VIP. The online phone help, which I've used dozens of times from overseas, has been equally friendly, helpful, and excellent.
There are several regional and small banks to be found that provide better service and lower fees than the majors. FBR fits in this category, but for any serious world traveler, I'd suggest that FBR is the best. I highly recommend it to friends and others.
This is an average bank for mortgage, CD, checking and saving accounts. My husband and I have a joint account in San Francisco. The staff are kind, courteous, and have poor attention to details. First, they got my social security number wrong at the beginning. Second, they failed to update my address and phone number for years although I gave my updated information online, on the phone, and in person for over 10 times. They only updated my husband's info. In joint accounts at First Republic bank, there is a profile for husband (primary person) and another for wife (secondary person); the information do not auto-populate and the staff did not pay attention. Third, their staff mistakenly changed my address while the change was meant for a different member. It took them a week to investigate and correct. Afterward, it took them another week to update my home address and phone number after numerous calls, online requests and a walk-in.
Furthermore, their online computer system shows transactions in double at times. For example, my water bill and external money transfer appear twice this morning, 1/30/19. Similar computer cliche had happened four months ago.
So why are we with them? Because the debit card of the ATM rebate checking account allows fee-less ATM withdrawals, nationally and internationally. Because once in a while, we need to visit a physical branch for cash in a certain denomination or for notary public (only used once in 7 years). Because the local Chase and BoA are even worse for us. Because of our lack of imagination and mental laziness.
I was at this bank between July 2022 and just pulled out due to the latest bank crisis. not upset to leave them, as their mobile application and website are very basic, and not in line with today's expectations. By that, I mean very slow to show new deposits/withdrawals, and feels clunky. over my time here I have had several security notifications of attempted logins, causing me to change my password multiple times. Nothing about this bank was great. My account still can't close, because a transfer has been "pending" for a week, even though it completed on the other end days ago. I think they don't want to close the account. I don't think I need to tell anyone, as deposit accounts wont even show it's health grade anymore.
A junk status bank with an "A" health rating. Apparently health ratings on this site don't mean much .
Overall | |
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FDIC Certificate # | 628 |
Year Established | 1824 |
Employees | 219830 |
Primary Regulator | OCC |
Profit Margin | |
---|---|
Return on Assets - YTD | 1.57% |
Return on Equity - YTD | 16.62% |
Annual Interest Income | $69.69B |
Assets and Liabilities | ||
---|---|---|
Assets | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $3,382.2B$3,380.8B |
Loans | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $1,286.4B$1,092.9B |
Deposits | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $2,505.7B$2,548.7B |
Equity Capital | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $315.4B$297.2B |
Loan Loss Allowance | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $21.92B$17.75B |
Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $9.04B$8.44B |
Real Estate Owned | Q2 2023vs Q2 2022 | $252.0MM$216.0MM |
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* The APY shown varies based on the deposit amount. Expand the listing to see APYs for other deposit amounts.
The rates for some products vary by region. In these cases we have listed the rates for the region closest to the bank's headquarters.
APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1.55%* | $1m* | - | Passbook Savings | ||
OTHER TIERS: 1.30% → Up to $25k | 1.40% → $25k - $500k | 1.50% → $500k - $1m |
APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS |
---|---|---|---|---|
0.01% | $5k | - | Business Interest Checking | |
0.00% | $3.5k | - | ATM Rebate Checking |