2 Stocks That May Surge on Bank Takeovers

A large wave of M&A’s in the U.S. financial sector may be underway, signaled most recently by Fifth Third Bancorp ’s announcement earlier this week to purchase MB Financial Inc. The rolling back of post-financial crisis regulation, as well as the fact that the U.S. banking sector is still among one of the most fragmented in the developed world, are factors that could lead to even more such deals. As big banks like Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. compete in a “zero-sum game” for market share, smaller banks like Wintrust Finacial Corp. and TCF Financial Corp. are likely targets, according to Barron’s.