Shares of M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) rallied as much as 9% in pre-market trading on reports that Spanish banking giant Santander has renewed talks to merge its U.S. operations with New York regional lender. Talks about merging Santander's Sovereign Bank into M&T stalled in May over who would control the enlarged business. However, the two banks have again started exploring a deal and have already sounded out the views of regulators, including the Federal Reserve, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Santander declined to comment.
