PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said Monday that it is buying the U.S. retail operations of Royal Bank of Canada for $3.45 billion, making it the fifth biggest among U.S. banks.
Pittsburgh-based PNC’s acquisition of RBC’s U.S. unit brings yet another new national name to Atlanta’s banking community, which since the financial crisis started has seen Wells Fargo absorb Wachovia and JPMorgan Chase acquire the remnants of the failed Washington Mutual.
RBC entered metro Atlanta in the early 2000s, buying up smaller community banks and stitching them into a metro-wide network. The bank has 52 branches in metro Atlanta and ranks seventh in market share as measured by deposits.
PNC said that the transaction will bring its total to 2,870 branches. RBC Bank (USA), based in Raleigh, N.C., has 424 branches and about $25 billion of assets.
Though PNC has had a corporate lending office in Atlanta for some time, it hasn’t operated here as a retail bank with branches.
Jim Rohr, chairman and CEO of PNC told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the bank is “very excited” about entering metro Atlanta.
“Royal Bank did a great job of taking community banks and putting them on platform,” Rohr said. “What they did not do was build out a full range of products and services.”
PNC will retain virtually all front line staff and look to expand RBC’s product offerings, he said, including wealth management and treasury services in metro Atlanta.
The bank is not currently looking to acquire additional institutions here, Rohr said.
PNC has also agreed to buy certain credit card assets of RBC Bank, (Georgia) National Association. RBC says that it will receive $165 million for the credit card assets.
It is the second big banking transaction in recent days following the announcement that U.S. bank Capital One Financial Corp. struck a $9 billion deal to buy the online bank of the Dutch financial services company ING.
The acquisition, which has been approved by both companies’ boards, is expected to close in March.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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