East Coast Banks Discussing Merger

Bank of Boston Corp. and CoreStates Financial Corp. of Philadelphia are reportedly in talks to merge, a move that would continue a recent spate of multibillion-dollar bank mergers.

The two banks have agreed in principal to a combination that would create the nation’s 12th largest bank, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The merger would likely value the Boston bank at about $4.3 billion, or $38 a share, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

Neither bank would comment on the Journal report, but Bank of Boston has been looking to join forces with another bank for several years.