- These are the papers of First Republic, PacWest and Western Alliance
- The investor is confident that the US will soon experience a recession
Famed financier Michael Berry I bought at the beginning of the year, large stakes in regional US banks. Among other things, he bought the bankrupt First Republic before the brand was taken over by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Michael Berry is known for being the inspiration for the main character in The Big Short. At one time, he predicted the global crisis of 2008.
The businessman owns the hedge fund Scion Asset Management. It was this fund that bought shares of problem banks in the 1st quarter. This follows from the report submitted to the regulator.
In total, Scion acquired 150,000 shares of First Republic for a total value of about $2 million. Recall that the shares of this bank fell by 97%, after which the company went bankrupt and came under the control of the American regulator. Then they held talks with JPMorgan and “persuaded” the banking giant to buy First Republic. We wrote more about this controversial deal here.
In addition to investing in First Republic, Scion bought up several other troubled banks. Among other things – 250,000 shares of PacWest Bancorp. This brand also suffered from the panic, its shares fell by 79%. The Berry Foundation also purchased 125,000 shares of Western Alliance Bancorp. Its quotes fell not so much – “only” by 48%.
In a recent interview, Michael Berry predicted another rise in inflation. He believes that the US has already entered a recession.