The pending consolidation of regional banking giants PNC and National City will take a major competitor out of Pittsburgh's business community that likely will result in job losses, empty buildings, office vacancies and less charitable support for local organizations that have benefited from the generosity of both companies.

"PNC buying National City is not as great for Pittsburgh as it would have been if National City were purchased by a bank not currently in our market," said Fred Rock, a partner with Focus Investment Bankers, Downtown. "From a business perspective, PNC doesn't have to be as competitive."

The combined company created by PNC's $5.6 billion purchase will allow Pittsburgh's largest retail bank to trim costs in a number of areas an outside bank would not be able to in terms of personnel layoffs and branch office closures in communities where the two banks have wrestled for market share.

National City Bank, one of the 10 largest banks in the country in terms of deposits and mortgages, has 150 branches and about 1,600 employees working in the greater metropolitan Pittsburgh area. PNC Bank has 1,100 branches nationwide. It was unclear yesterday how many of those branches are in Pittsburgh.

If PNC decides to close National City branches, that alone could put a sizable amount of commercial real estate on the market at a time when many businesses are cutting back due to decreased consumer spending and growing fears of a widespread recession.

But it could open a window of opportunity for smaller banks in the area to seize prime locations in the Pittsburgh market, said Howard "Hoddy" Hanna, chairman of Howard Hanna Real Estate.

Major bank branches usually are positioned in high-visibility corner buildings and in busy shopping centers.

"Bank branches are usually scooped up quickly [when they become vacant] because they tend to be very good locations," he said. "They usually have high traffic and heavy consumer use.

"One of the things PNC Bank will have problems with is another [rival] bank will want some of the locations they give up. I don't believe this will create a glut of retail or office space."

Among the most high-profile areas where the two banks have competed is Downtown, where PNC currently has two operations centers and is building a third on Fifth Avenue. National City's local headquarters also is located Downtown on Stanwix Street overlooking the Monongahela River.

But according to CoStar, a national provider of real estate statistics, commercial office space in Pittsburgh's Downtown area is in high demand.

Vacancy numbers in Downtown have declined from 15.1 percent in the first quarter of 2006 to 12.3 percent in the most recent quarter, which indicates more businesses have been moving into Downtown than have moved out.

National City Center on Stanwix Street has 360,820 square feet of rentable area, which represents about 1 percent of the 31,223,698 total square feet of office space Downtown.

"I think that building will be absorbed in a relatively short time," said John Sozansky, a director at Integra Realty Resources a commercial real estate appraisal firm in Sewickley. "It has a nice river view and is well-located."

National City's presence in this city will be missed in other ways.

Both financial institutions are known for supporting charitable organizations and causes throughout the city. PNC will either have to increase its charitable giving or the community will end up receiving less.

"This deal is a great deal for PNC Bank, but at the expense of many other factors," Mr. Rock said. "I feel bad for the community. A lot of people will be laid off who would not be if an outside bank had bought National City.

"And from a charitable prospective, the National City side will dry up, which will hurt a number of organizations National City had sponsored."