PITTSBURGH, Pa .– FNB Corp., parent company of First National Bank of Pennsylvania, has received final regulatory approval for its proposed merger with Howard Bancorp Inc., which includes the merger of its Howard Bank subsidiary with First National Bank.

The Federal Reserve System Board of Governors, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation of Maryland have given final approval for the merger, the FNB said on Tuesday.

Pending certain customary and customary closing conditions, as well as a special meeting vote on Nov. 9 by Howard shareholders, the merger would strengthen FNB’s presence in its mid-Atlantic region, the Combined organization set to assume the sixth-largest depository action position in Baltimore, Maryland, the statement said. ETF continues to expect the merger to generate 4% earnings per share with fully phased cost savings on a GAAP basis and expects the merger to improve ETFs profitability metrics.

In addition, ETF expects the impact of tangible book value per common share to be minimal and expects the CET1 ratio to remain unchanged on a pro forma basis at closing.

The boards of directors of FNB and Howard previously approved the deal. As announced on July 13, Howard shareholders will be entitled to receive 1.8 ETF common shares for each Howard common share they own. The exchange ratio is fixed and the transaction should be treated as a tax-free exchange for Howard shareholders.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.