Popular In Advanced Talks To Sell Some Mainland U.S. Branches: WSJ

(RTTNews) - Popular Inc. (BPOP), the largest bank in Puerto Rico, is in advanced discussions to sell some of its mainland U.S. branches, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The bank's Rosemont, Illinois-based subsidiary, which has about $8 billion in assets, is likely to announce deals to sell its Chicago-area branches as well branches in California and some in Florida on Wednesday.

Many lenders are focusing on branch sales to cut costs amid increased online banking. Popular's branches in Chicago are said to be among the most attractive in the group.

Potential bidders include smaller lenders like Wintrust Financial Corp., Metropolitan Bank Group Inc. and First Midwest Bancorp Inc.

An auction for the branches has been in progress for nearly six weeks. Terms of the deals could not be determined.

Popular, which was hit hard by the mortgage downturn, operates about 90 mainland U.S. branches in New York, Illinois, California, Florida and New Jersey. The bank is slated to announce first-quarter results Wednesday morning.

BPOP closed up 0.7 percent at $29.45 on Tuesday.