April 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp has asked banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and PNC Financial Services Group (PNC.N) to submit final bids for First Republic Bank (FRC.N) by Sunday after gauging their initial interest earlier in the week, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.
The banking regulator reached out to banks late Thursday seeking indications of interest, including a proposed price and estimated cost to the agency’s deposit insurance fund, the report said.
Based on those submissions on Friday, FDIC invited at least two firms to the next step in the bidding, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.
PNC Financial and a FDIC spokesperson declined to comment on the Bloomberg report. JPMorgan did not immediately respond to voicemails and emails seeking comment.
The news comes as FDIC is preparing to place First Republic under receivership imminently, after the regulator decided the troubled regional lender’s position has deteriorated and there is no more time to pursue a rescue through the private sector.
If the San Francisco-based lender falls into receivership, it would be the third U.S. bank to collapse since March, after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru Editing by Alexandra Hudson
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
FDIC asks JPMorgan, PNC for final First Republic bids: Bloomberg
