PNC to acquire FirstBank for $4.1B, adding branches in Ariz., Colo.

Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank is buying a competitor in Arizona and Colorado for $4.1 billion.

The bank announced Monday morning it’s absorbing 95 FirstBank branches and $27 billion in assets. FirstBank has a “leading” market position in Colorado and a “substantial presence” in Arizona, according to PNC.

The number of PNC branches in Colorado will more than triple to 120. Denver will become one of PNC’s largest business and commercial banking markets, the bank said.

Its footprint in Arizona will grow to 70 branches from 57.

“The addition of FirstBank’s strong presence in these fast-growing markets will reinforce PNC as a leading national bank in the United States,” PNC said in a news release.

Board members for both banks have approved the deal, which is expected to close early next year. PNC is paying for the merger with $1.2 billion in cash and $2.9 billion in stock.

The deal is part of a wider effort by PNC to go west. The bank plans to spend $1.5 billion building more than 200 branches by 2029, mostly in Sun Belt cities like Dallas, Miami, Orlando, Charlotte and Phoenix.

It also reflects a favorable market for mergers and acquisitions among financial institutions, according to Brett Mastalli, banking lead for Chicago-based consulting firm West Monroe.

A looser regulatory environment under the Trump administration has given major players the green light to expand, he explained, while smaller banks are struggling under the weight of increased technological complexity in areas such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

Since 2015, the number of federally insured banks has shrunk to 3,900 from about 5,300.

“I would anticipate that going down by another half in the next 10 years,” Mastalli said.

PNC had 2,300 branches of June, the fourth most of any bank in the country, according to the Federal Reserve. It had $555 billion in assets, good for eighth place.