April 29 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp 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) on Sunday after gauging their initial interest earlier in the week, Bloomberg News reported.
The banking regulator reached out to banks late Thursday seeking indications of interest, including the proposed price and estimated cost of the agency’s deposit insurance fund, the report said.
Bank of America ( BAC.N ) is one of several other institutions weighing a potential bid for First Republic, CNBC reported on Saturday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Based on Friday’s submissions, the FDIC has invited at least two companies to the next round of bidding, the Bloomberg report added, citing people familiar with the matter.
The FDIC said in an email: “We will not comment or confirm whether we are bidding on an open institution.”
PNC Financial declined to comment on the Bloomberg report. JPMorgan and Bank of America did not immediately respond to a voicemail and email seeking comment.
The FDIC is preparing to put First Republic under receivership soon, after the regulator decided that the lender’s position in the region has deteriorated and there is no time to continue saving through the private sector.
If the San Francisco-based lender falls into receivership, it will be the third US bank to collapse since March, following the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru Editing by Alexandra Hudson
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