Media reports have it that banks like PNC Financial Services Group, J.PMorgan Chase & Co, and Citizens Financial Group Inc, have submitted final bids for First Republic Bank.
The reports also have it that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) had seized First Republic Bank and had auctioned it.
U.S. regulators have been trying to secure the sale of the lender, receiving close to six bids. Guggenheim Securities is advising the FDIC.
First Republic Bank’s sale would come less than two months after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank crashed. Those failures came after crypto-focused Silvergate voluntarily liquidated.
First Republic had total assets of $233 billion at the end of the first quarter and was the 14th biggest lender in the U.S. at the end of last year.
While markets have since calmed, a deal for First Republic would be closely watched for the amount of support the government needs to provide.
The FDIC officially insures deposits up to $250,000. But fearing further bank runs, regulators took the exceptional step of insuring all deposits at both Silicon Valley Bank and Signature.
Experts say that though federal law prevents a large bank from an acquisition that would put it above a threshold of 10% of total deposits, a waiver could be done by banking regulators if it was buying a failed bank.
First Republic, which survived on high-net-worth customers, saw more than $100 billion in deposits fleeing in the first quarter, leaving it scrambling to raise money.
By Friday, First Republic’s market value had hit a low of $557 million, down from its peak of $40 billion in November 2021.
