The next bank to sell out could be National City Corp. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the regional bank is in talks with a number of banks about a possible sale. Potential bidders include PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and
Bank of Nova Scotia, according to the report. Many regional banks have all taken a pounding in the credit crisis. National City's has been the hardest hit with shares on
Wednesday closing down 1.8% to $2.23; the stock has lost 94% of its value since
hitting a peak in mid-2007. The bank has a market capitalization of
$4.7 billion.
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Assuming the buyer could handle National City's bad
debts, the bank would offer a purchaser an extensive branch network in
Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and
Pennsylvania. In April, National City hired
Goldman, Sachs & Co. to help with a strategic review, but instead opted for a $7 billion recapitalization from investors, according to The Deal's Peter Moreira. This of course has investors talking.
Here's some of the rabble babble on the Yahoo! and Google message boards:
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- Maria Woehr
