Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.S. bank PNC Financial said

on Monday it would buy smaller rival FirstBank Holding in a $4.1

billion cash-and-stock deal, expanding in the fast-growing

markets of Colorado and Arizona.

The deal, which includes the banking subsidiary FirstBank,

will also bring PNC closer to $600 billion in assets, narrowing

the gap with rivals such as U.S. Bancorp ( USB ).

Talk of potential mergers and acquisitions among Wall Street

banks and large regional lenders increased at the start of the

second half of the year in a major shift under the Trump

administration after regulators under the Biden administration

opposed or blocked big deals.

PNC CEO Bill Demchak said in June that he expected

consolidation in retail banking to boost industry profits.

In July, regional lenders Pinnacle Financial Partners ( PNFP )

and Synovus Financial ( SNV ) agreed to combine in an

$8.6 billion deal, the biggest U.S. bank acquisition this year.

"Its (FirstBank) deep retail deposit base, unrivaled branch

network in Colorado, (and) growing presence in Arizona make it

an ideal partner for PNC," Demchak said in a statement on

Monday.

Under the deal, FirstBank stockholders will get roughly

13.9 million PNC shares and $1.2 billion in cash.

FirstBank, which began offering banking services in 1963,

manages $26.8 billion in assets and operates 95 branches.

FirstBank CEO Kevin Classen will become PNC's Colorado

Regional President and Mountain Territory Executive, which

includes Arizona and Utah.

The deal is expected to close in early 2026.

Wells Fargo advised PNC on the deal, while Morgan Stanley

and Goldman Sachs advised FirstBank.