One of the biggest bank mergers in the Northeast this year is one step closer to becoming reality after key state regulators signed off on the deal.

Connecticut and New York State banking regulators approved Buffalo, New York-based M&T Bank’s bid to buy Bridgeport, Connecticut-based People’s United Bank, the companies announced in a joint statement.

The all-stock transaction worth $7.6 billion. Shareholders in both companies approved the deal in May.

M&T had run into a buzzsaw of opposition from Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and local officials after announcing it would cull 661 jobs at People’s United’s headquarters building.

When the deal was first announced, M&T said the Bridgeport office would become its New England headquarters and continue to oversee the combined entity’s activity in the region. M&T’s current, 716-branch footprint includes almost no branches in the six New England states, while People’s United’s 419 branches practically blanket Connecticut, Greater Boston, the Pioneer Valley, Southeastern New Hampshire, Southern Maine and much of Vermont.

Following the furor, M&T backed down on its Bridgeport plans, promising to have at least 1,000 staff working out of the People’s United headquarters building by early 2023.

Massachusetts will only see 44 job loses due to the merger, and while it will bring a new brand onto the state’s banking scene, many in the industry don’t expect significant upheaval from the deal and few, if any branch closures. People’s United currently had $9.65 billion in deposits in Massachusetts, a 1.67 percent share of all deposits in the state according to FDIC data through June 30. That puts it $3 billion behind its nearest competitor, Rockland Trust Co.

The merger only waits on Federal Reserve approval.