NEW YORK: PNC Financial Services Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co were among banks set to submit final bids for First Republic Bank by midday Sunday in an auction being run by US regulators, sources familiar with the matter.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp is expected to announce a deal on Sunday night before Asian markets open, with the regulator likely to say at the same time that it had seized the lender, three sources previously told Reuters.

FDIC was not immediately available for comment. The banks declined to comment.

US regulators have been trying to clinch a sale of First Republic over the weekend, with roughly half a dozen banks bidding, sources said on Saturday, in what is likely to be the third major US bank to fail in two months.

Citizens Financial Group Inc was another bidder vying for the bank, according to sources familiar with the matter on Saturday.

A deal for First Republic would come less than two months after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed amid a deposit flight from US lenders, forcing the Federal Reserve to step in with emergency measures to stabilize markets.