Banking M&A likely to pick up in coming months

Mergers and acquisitions among banks are expected to continue at a rapid pace amid ongoing financial sector turmoil, but these deals are likely to be struck at lower prices than combinations made during better economic times. "Previously, the seller was coming from a position of strength. Now, it's from a position of weakness," said Octavio Marenzi, head of the consulting firm Celent. High premiums paid to acquire banks are likely a thing of the past, replaced by discount prices, he said. David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's Corp., said, "You can pick up pretty significant players for pretty cheap right now." The price of banking stocks has plummeted throughout the year after financial companies were burdened by rising loan defaults and the collapse of the market for mortgage-backed securities, investments created... [read full story]