Goldman Sachs and
Morgan Stanley have emerged as the most likely suitors to snap up First Republic Bank, the private bank that Bank of America inherited from
Merrill Lynch, according to Investment News.

San Francisco-based


First
Republic, which has about $13 billion in assets, is also being looked at by some private investor groups, according to industry observers who say BoA is eager to unload the private bank.

First
Republic, which provides personalised wealth management services, was purchased for $1.8 billion in 2007 by New York-based Merrill and is now owned by Charlotte, North Carolina-based BoA.

BoA, which is looking to reduce non-core assets, already owns a similar high-end wealth manager, US Trust.

Bank of America has been seeking a buyer for First Republic Bank since February, according to the Wall Street Journal. The paper reported last week that the bank also plans to sell Columbia Management, the asset manager it acquired five years ago, in a bid to preserve capital and offload non-core assets.

Columbia Management was acquired by Bank of America through its takeover of FleetBoston in 2004. At the end of last year, the Columbia Management Group had $386.4 billion in assets under management.