The First Republic targeted the super-rich, including Mark Zuckerberg, before shares plunged amid SVB fallout

It is famous as a bank for the rich, holding oyster-fueled events for customers, glitzy Christmas parties for employees and discount mortgages for the rich.

But the First Republic finds itself in the eye of the storm after being swept up in the financial crisis caused by the collapse of the Silicon Valley bank.

Shares fell 67 percent in morning trading Monday, as panicked customers raced to branches to empty their huge savings from their accounts.

Meanwhile, trading circuit breakers were quickly imposed to protect the market from rampant volatility as Wall Street traders tried to close the gates.

It’s a far cry from what it was a few months ago, when fancy-dressed First Republic bankers flocked to San Francisco for a Wonka-themed Christmas bash.

It also marks a dramatic slowdown for a small bank that exploded over the past decade to count even Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg among its wealthy clients.

Over the past three decades, the bank has rebounded from small operation to the preferred lender to wealthy clients including Zuckerberg — who was offered a 1.05 percent mortgage rate on a $5.95 million loan for his five-bedroom Palo Alto home in 2011.

Clients with a net worth of $3.3 million are lured by lavish perks including cocktail parties at 69 branches from Manhattan to Palm Beach.

Photos and videos posted to social media in December show a sparkling Willy Wonka-themed holiday party, with dancers and an orchestra, at the luxurious Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

The bank’s clients include corporations – Lincoln Center and San Francisco Ballet – as well as high-net-worth individuals who are no longer happy leaving their money in low-interest accounts.

First Republic, like some other financial institutions, is well known for catering to the rich since “some are exempt from certain rules on diversified mortgage lending, while others don’t have the same potential problems because they are private banks within companies that lend on a large scale,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Wall Street Journal reports that about three-quarters of the bank’s mortgage approvals are “mega” loans, or loans of more than $417,000. And the average First Republic mortgage is over $1.2 million.

Many customers are on a first name basis with their branch manager and cite the personal interest as a reason for conducting their banking transactions with the lender.

Customers posted on social media and Glassdoor gushed about the establishment, detailing appreciation parties on city rooftops, upscale hotels and ballrooms in cities across the country.

The photo gallery on the bank’s homepage shows customers at fancy gatherings and events with champagne, food and live music.

But after the SVB fallout last week, First Republic Bank customers scrambled to withdraw their funds.

The San Francisco-based bank said yesterday that it has secured additional financing through JPMorgan, giving it access to a total of $70 billion in funds through various sources.

The bank’s “capital and liquidity positions are very strong” and that its “capitalization remains well above the regulatory limit for well-capitalized banks,” the bank’s chairman and CEO said in a joint statement.

Despite the cash infusion, investment bank Raymond James downgraded its stock to “market perform” from “strong buy,” highlighting the risk of deposit outflows First Republic faces from panicked large depositors after the bank’s run in SVB.

President Joe Biden on Monday told Americans the country’s financial systems are safe, seeking to show calm in the wake of the rapid and stunning collapse of two banks that has raised fears of broader disruption.

“Your deposits will be there when you need them,” he said.

US regulators shut down a Silicon Valley bank on Friday after it faced a classic bank run, as depositors scrambled to withdraw their money in one go.

It is the second-largest bank failure in US history, after that of Washington Mutual in 2008. But the financial bloodshed was swift. The New York-based Signature Bank also failed.

The president, speaking from the White House shortly before a trip to the West Coast, said he would seek to hold those responsible to account, and pressed for better oversight and regulation of the larger banks. He promised that the taxpayers would not bear any losses.

“We have to get a full account of what happened,” he said. Americans can have confidence that the banking system is secure.

Biden also said that the management of the banks should be fired. He said, referring to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. , which is the agency responsible for ensuring the stability of the banking system: “If the FDIC takes over the bank, the people who run the bank shouldn’t work there anymore.”

With over $110 billion in assets, Signature Bank is the third largest bank failure in US history. Another beleaguered bank, First Republic Bank, announced Sunday that it has strengthened its financial health by accessing funding from the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase.

The developments left the markets jittery as trading started on Monday. Asian and European markets fell, and while the US markets were trading higher, shares of medium-sized commercial banks took a heavy hit despite Biden’s assurances.

The Bank of England and the UK Treasury said early Monday that they had facilitated the sale of a subsidiary of London’s Silicon Valley Bank to HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, ensuring 6.7 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) of deposits were secured.

In an effort to boost confidence in the banking system, the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC said Sunday that all Silicon Valley bank customers will be protected and able to access their funds.

Under the plan, depositors at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, including those whose holdings exceed the $250,000 insurance limit, will be able to access their funds on Monday.

Among the bank’s clients are a range of companies from the California wine industry, where many wineries rely on the Silicon Valley bank for loans, and tech startups dedicated to fighting climate change.