‘Generous but expensive’: The costs of helping banks alleviate deposit stress don’t come cheap

The costs of powerful backstops for banks are in the spotlight after First Republic Bank’s failure and sale to JPMorgan Chase pushed the tally of recent assets seized by regulators from three banks above the 2008 crisis peak.

The Federal Reserve created a new Bank Term Funding Program in early March, with the aim of limiting contagion risks after the collapse of California’s Silicon Valley Bank and New York’s Signature Bank.

The…