PNC Financial Services Group Inc. plans to repay its $7.6 billion government bailout next year, but is in no rush after larger banks finalized plans to pay back the money in the last week.

"I don't see a rush," PNC Chief Executive James Rohr told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

His comments came two days after Wells Fargo & Co sold $12.25 billion in stock, raising money to help it exit the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Within the past week, Bank of America Corp repaid bailout funds, and Wells Fargo and Citigroup Inc announced plans to do so.

Rohr said Pittsburgh-based PNC is talking to regulators and has not been pressured to repay the money it took from TARP.

"We'll pay it back next year for sure," he said, but he declined to specify when.

PNC received government aid to help fund its acquisition of Cleveland-based National City Corp at the end of last year.

The fifth-largest U.S. bank by assets, PNC has been regarded as one of the strongest banks during the financial crisis.

Rohr said that while PNC has been busy integrating National City, he expects to expand further.

PNC will likely participate in the future in auctions for failed banks held by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, he said.

"We're always looking to try to expand market share in certain of our markets," he said, noting the bank will target places where it has less market share, such as in Florida, St. Louis and Chicago.

Separately, Rohr said he believes the economy is "bottoming out" but he expects a slow recovery, with construction and real estate in particular likely to struggle through to 2011.

"Unemployment is still at 10 percent so it doesn't feel like we're doing great. It still feels like we're in a recession," he said.

But he added, "I think we will have a recovery. I just think it will be slow."