PNC Financial confirmed this morning that it plans to buy Raleigh-based RBC Bank for $3.45 billion.
The deal allows Pittsburgh-based PNC to expand quickly in the Southeast, and lets Royal Bank of Canada shed its underperforming U.S. subsidiary.
PNC expects to close the sale in March 2012, and convert RBC branches to the PNC name. PNC expects to cut about $230 million in costs "through operational and administrative efficiency improvements."
That will likely mean lost jobs, especially at RBC's downtown Raleigh headquarters. RBC employs about 5,000 people, including 500 in Raleigh.
Read a full report on the deal from today's News & Observer here.
