M&T Bank Earns 'Outstanding' Community Reinvestment Act Rating

BUFFALO, N.Y., May 11  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M&T Bank has received an "Outstanding" Community Reinvestment Act rating from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, representing the highest possible rating of how well the bank meets the credit needs of its communities.

M&T has earned the highest rating awarded by the Federal Reserve Bank on each of its period CRA exams since 1982. Major factors of the bank's performance cited by the Federal Reserve include:

  --  The bank originated over 57,000 consumer and small business loans in
      its assessment area.


  --  The geographic distribution of loans reflected good penetration in
      low- and moderate-income geographies.


  --  The bank was a leader in making community development loans and
      qualified investments.



The exam highlighted 455 community development loans, for a total of more than $1.9 billion, a significant increase over M&T's last two-year assessment period, and $246 million of qualified CRA investments.

"While the economic downturn creates even more challenges in many low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods, M&T remains committed to direct lending and investment in our communities, and also to serving as a strong and stable partner for not-for-profit organizations to develop affordable housing and help people become financially empowered," said JoAnne Schwartz, Corporate CRA Officer for M&T.

The recently issued rating is based on M&T's performance between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007. Federal regulators spent several months reviewing the bank's lending, service and investment data. The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 was enacted by Congress to encourage financial institutions to meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate.

M&T Bank Corporation, founded in 1856, is one of the top 20 commercial bank holding companies in the nation, with $64.9 billion in assets and more than 680 branch offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington D.C. More information is available at http://www.mtb.com/.

For Further Information:

Chet Bridger 716-842-5182 

DATASOURCE: M&T Bank



CONTACT:  Chet Bridger of M&T Bank, [phone]



Web Site:  http://www.mtb.com/ 

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