The Pittsburgh-based PNC said Monday that it would buy the Allentown-based firm that provides balance sheet management, investment banking and capital markets services to financial institutions.
Tom Meuser, the chairman of El Dorado Savings in California, said he could not get the necessary two-thirds backing from his shareholders because of recent declines in bank stock prices.
Deposit premiums for bank mergers, which topped 10% in 2018 for the first time in years, are expected to keep rising as competition for cheap funding intensifies.