National City hires Goldman for strategic review

NEW YORK (Reuters) - National City Corp NCC.N said on Tuesday its board is reviewing a range of strategic alternatives and has hired Goldman Sachs (GS.N) as its advisor, sending shares of the large U.S. regional bank up as much as 6 percent.

National City said it does not expect to make further announcements about the review until its board has approved a specific course of action.

"The review has no impact on National City's day-to-day operations," National City Chief Executive Peter Raskind said in a statement.

Speculation that the bank was evaluating selling itself has moved shares of the company in recent weeks.

On March 20, its shares rose more than 9 percent and its option volume was above normal partly on speculation it may be acquired by European bank HSBC (HBC.N)(HSBA.L). HSBC declined to comment at the time.

In January, the Cleveland, Ohio-based bank that has been hurt by mortgage losses said it would raise about $1.6 billion through offerings of convertible debt and preferred securities. Goldman was the sole book-running manager and underwriter for those offerings.

National City's shares were up 29 cents, or 2.9 percent, at $10.24 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange after climbing to $10.58.

(Reporting by Paritosh Bansal, editing by Mark Porter and Gerald E. McCormick)