Blank check company among bidders for failed Chicago bank

A blank-check company formed to buy failed banks was among the bidders for Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust in Chicago, which was closed last month.

Porticoes National Bank, formed in 2023, was one of six entities that bid on Metropolitan. First Independence Bank in Detroit would end up buying $212 million in deposits and $251 million of assets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The other bidders were Anchor Bank in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Liberty Bank and Trust in New Orleans; State Bank of Texas in Dallas; and Stearns Bank in St. Cloud, Minn.

First Independence’s winning bid included a 5% deposit premium, a nearly $16 million asset discount, and no loss-sharing agreement, according to the FDIC’s summary. The unnamed runner-up pitched a 5% deposit premium, a $22 million asset discount, and no loss sharing. Some bidders sought 80% loss sharing.