PNC Moves On RBC Unit For $3.45B

PNC Financial Services PNC, the Pennsylvania-based regional banking giant, may announce as early as Monday that it will acquire the retail banking business of Royal Bank of Canada RY for $3.45 billion in cash and stock, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. PNC will also pay $165 million for some of RBC's credit assets, valuing the total deal at $3.62 billion, $1 billion of which could include PNC shares. While PNC already has a strong footprint in Florida, the acquisition would help the bank bolster its presence in other parts of the U.S. southeast. The precise amount of PNC stock that RBC would receive will be determined closer to the date the deal is completed, which is expected by March, Bloomberg reported, citing the sources. If the deal comes to pass, it would be the second of significant size in the banking sector in less than a week. Last week, Capital One COF announced it would pay $9 billion for ING Groep's ING U.S. online banking business, marking the largest U.S. banking acquisition in several years.