NEW YORK — PNC Financial Services Group Inc. is being told by the federal government to sell 61 branches of National City Corp. in western Pennsylvania as a condition for acquiring the bank, according to a person familiar with the matter.

National City’s nearly 30,000 employees, from top managers to bank tellers, were being informed Thursday afternoon that the Department of Justice would announce the order later in the day, the person said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the planned sale.

— From wire reports