First RepublicBank Corp. has sought protection from...

First RepublicBank Corp. has sought protection from its creditors under U.S. bankruptcy laws after almost all its subsidiary banks were declared insolvent by federal regulators. Banking authorities closed the holding company’s 40 Texas banks late Friday and turned them over to Charlotte, N.C.-based NCNB Corp. First RepublicBank and a related holding company, IFRB Corp., have each filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 court protection over the weekend. The filing led the New York Stock Exchange to suspend trading in stock of First RepublicBank, which has been left with a single bank in Delaware and certain subsidiaries engaged in non-banking activities.