The China Post – Asia-Pacific banks, brokerages, insurers and private equity firms are more optimistic about mergers and acquisitions as they seek to expand following a decline in asset prices, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

About 42 percent of financial institutions in the region expect to make an acquisition over the next year, compared with 38 percent a year earlier, according to a PwC survey of 215 senior executives conducted in Jan. and Feb. Still, 83 percent of the respondents expect the global credit crunch and economic slump to last for another one to two years.

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Tags: acquisition, asia-pacific, asset-prices, brokerages, china post, decline, economic slump, financial-institutions, global credit crunch, mergers and acquisitions, pacific banks, private equity firms, respondents, senior-executives