Bank of America Corp agreed to sell First Republic private bank to a group of private equity investors.

A consortium of private equity firms, including General Atlantic Partners and Colony Capital, are part of the deal, with First Republic Chairman and Chief Executive James Herbert part of the winning bid, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

First Republic's current management would continue to run the bank, according to the statement. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2010.

At the end of third-quarter, First Republic reported $19 billion in total assets, $16 billion in deposits and $15 billion in client assets under management in its wealth division.

A Bank of America spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Joe Rauch, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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