Nov 1 (Reuters) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) has suspended an auction process for Republic First Bancorp, after the bank struck a deal with an investor group to raise money, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

The FDIC notified potential buyers on Tuesday that the bank's capital-raising effort was the avenue it was focused on pursuing, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.

Republic First Bancorp did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment, while the FDIC declined to comment.

Investor group Norcross Braca last week agreed to pump $35 million into troubled lender Republic First Bancorp whose shares were delisted in August and trade on the over-the-counter marketplace.

The lender had earlier also postponed its 2022 annual shareholders meeting until December. (Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)