The banks advertised the transaction as a merger of equals, but Shore shareholders would own 60% of the company.

Dort Financial Credit Union in Grand Blanc, Michigan, has agreed to buy Flagler Bank in South Florida. The deal would allow Dort "to better serve our members who spend winters in Florida," its CEO says.

The acquisition of Malvern Bancorp in Pennsylvania would provide added heft in suburban Philadelphia markets. It is easily First Bank's largest-ever M&A deal.

Micron's planned semiconductor chip factory near Syracuse along with IBM's expansion project in the Hudson Valley could inject as much as $120 billion into markets inside the footprint of the combined NBT Bancorp and Salisbury Bancorp. NBT CEO John Watt calls the economic investments a "transformational opportunity" for the region.

Bank of Montreal, which is working to close the largest acquisition in its history, is selling C$3.15 billion ($2.31 billion) in equity to make sure it can meet Canadian regulators' recently increased capital requirements.

The West Virginia-based Summit would gain 10 branches in Maryland and Delaware through its $54 million agreement to buy PSB Holding Corp.

A special-purpose acquisition company is merging with a bank as its affiliated startup still lacks its own national bank charter.

Canada's banking regulator increased a key capital requirement for large banks — and raised the potential range of the measure — giving it more power to protect the country's financial system from elevated risks.

William Demchak, the Pittsburgh bank's CEO, is leery of acquiring banks amid elevated regulatory scrutiny. KeyCorp Chief Executive Chris Gorman has similar concerns, citing economic uncertainty in addition to the long waits for approval.

Executives at the Minneapolis company said Wednesday that they expect earnings-per-share accretion to be higher than they previously anticipated. But their estimate for merger-related expenses also rose.