Federal regulators are scrambling to take and sell First Republic Bank as soon as this weekend, according to an ABC News source familiar with the situation.

A federal government takeover of the troubled regional bank would be part of a larger move to address the financial crisis sparked by the demise of Silicon Valley Bank last month.

The FDIC might take over First Republic Bank and immediately sell its assets to another private bank. If no agreement with a private bank is achieved, the FDIC may be forced to take full ownership of First Republic.

It’s uncertain if the FDIC would make all uninsured deposits whole in that second situation, as it did with SVB and Signature Bank. Treasury and Federal Reserve officials would almost certainly need to sign off on a plan to cover First Republic’s uninsured deposits by considering it a “systemic risk exception,” as they did with the other two failing banks in March.

Typically, authorities aim to complete takeover transactions by Sunday night, when Asian financial markets reopen.

Last week, First Republic Bank’s stock dropped roughly 75% after it revealed that customers withdrew more than $100 billion in deposits during the banking sector’s turmoil last month. In March, a $30 billion rescue package from 11 of the nation’s largest banks was insufficient to allay investors’ concerns about the bank’s finances.

According to Federal Reserve data, First Republic Bank, located in California, was the 14th largest commercial bank in the US by the end of 2022.

Following coordinated action by regulators last month, top US officials insist the American banking system is safe and resilient.