M&T Bank, the Buffalo-based lender now in the process of buying Bridgeport’s People’s United Bank, plans to commit $43 billion in loans and other financial support to assist disadvantaged communities, families and small businesses, company officials announced this week.
As part of a five-year “Community Growth Plan,” M&T said it will devote $23 billion to loans for home purchases, home equity and small businesses and allocate another $20 billion for community development initiatives and affordable housing.
The investments will be steered toward low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods and families and communities of color in M&T’s existing service area and in regions the bank will expand into through its acquisition of People’s United, which includes much of Connecticut.
“At its core, M&T is a bank with a deep commitment to serve our communities and make a difference in people’s lives,” said M&T Chairman and CEO Rene Jones. “We are also committed to taking action to help address inequities that have existed for years. This plan is another step in our journey to orient ourselves around what our communities need most.”
In a more detailed breakdown of its investment plan, the company said it will provide $11.95 billion for community development activities; $8.8 billion for home purchase lending for low-to-moderate-income households and communities, minority households and majority-minority communities; $7 billion for the development of multi-family, affordable and workforce housing; and $10.5 billion for programs and products that benefit businesses in low-to-moderate-income and minority communities.
M&T also said it will organize financial education seminars, expand availability of its certified checking account and secured credit card and designate as many as 115 branches as “multicultural banking centers,” with bilingual staff on hand to assist and serve non-English-speaking customers.
The bank recently launched a Spanish-language version of its website, added Chinese and Korean to the languages available on its ATMs, developed financial education materials in Spanish and plans to offer customers the ability to schedule online appointments in six different languages.
M&T announced plans in February to acquire People’s United for $7.6 billion. Regulators in Connecticut and New York signed off on the deal last week, and the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
People’s United’s existing headquarters in downtown Bridgeport is expected to become M&T’s regional headquarters for New England.
