Call it a sign of the times.

M&T Bank's announcement that it would acquire 143 Provident Bank locations this spring meant plenty of changes for those branches.

New signs were among the most visible. So the New York-based regional bank hired GableSigns and Graphics Inc. of Curtis Bay to design and install thousands of signs bearing the M&T moniker at the old Provident locations.

The public got its first look at the signs yesterday when crews from GableSigns fanned out across Maryland, Virginia, D.C. and Pennsylvania to reveal the change.

Tim Weigard, sales representative for GableSigns, said the conversion...