: First Republic stock slides further on questions about its future

First Republic Bank stock slid further early Wednesday after losing nearly half its value in the previous session as reports surfaced of efforts to backstop the S&P 500 index component to prevent further losses.

First Republic fell 33% to $5.43 a share on heavy volume of 38 million shares. Meanwhile, PacWest Bancorp PACW was up 15% after it disclosed a rise in deposits with its first-quarter results.

First…