Texas Bank Seeks FDIC Bailout

First RepublicBank Corp., the biggest independent banking company in Texas, said today it will seek Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. assistance as it wrestles with billions of dollars in bad real estate and commercial loans.

First RepublicBank, formed last year in the merger of RepublicBank Corp. and InterFirst Corp., lost $656 million in 1987, primarily because about 17% of its $15-billion loan portfolio was either past due or renegotiated. The bank stands to lose $450 million more this year. Generally, the FDIC grants assistance if it determines that keeping the bank open would be less costly to the government than letting the bank fail.