First Republic Executives’ Stock Trading Investigated by SEC (1)

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the conduct of First Republic Bank executives before the government seizure and sale of the lender to JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to two people familiar with the matter.

The SEC is looking into whether any members of the then-executive team of First Republic improperly traded on inside information, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the probe hasn’t been publicly disclosed.

It couldn’t immediately be determined which former executives are the focus of the inquiry. No one previously or currently at the bank has been accused ...