National City mulled bankruptcy before PNC deal

NEW YORK, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Before accepting a takeover offer from PNC Financial Services Group Inc (PNC.N) last month, National City Corp NCC.N mulled the possibility that it would need to seek bankruptcy protection "in the very near future," PNC said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

National City, a U.S. Midwest regional bank, believed it would face "additional regulatory actions, including intervention by the United States federal banking regulators, and/or be required to seek protection under applicable bankruptcy laws" had it not found a merger partner or otherwise been able to relieve its liquidity strains, according to the filing.

National City, based in Cleveland, agreed to the $5.2 billion takeover offer on Oct. 24 after concluding that its ability to participate in various government programs to unlock credit markets and shore up the banking system was unlikely or uncertain, the filing shows.

Pittsburgh-based PNC obtained $7.7 billion from a $250 billion U.S. Treasury Department bank capital infusion program to help fund the purchase of National City. The combined company would be the seventh-largest U.S. bank by assets, fifth-largest by deposits, and fourth-largest by branches. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; editing by John Wallace)