Boston-based banks Berkshire Hills and Brookline in talks to combine, WSJ reports

(Reuters) – Boston-based regional banks Berkshire Hills (NYSE:BHLB) Bancorp and Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) are in merger talks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The deal would merge the two banks, which each has about $12 billion in assets, and could be announced as soon as next week, according to WSJ.

Brookline has a market cap of $1.12 billion, and Berkshire Hills has a market cap of $1.3 billion, according to LSEG data as of Friday.

Berkshire Hills and Brookline did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the merger.