Expert quote:<\/b> “We’re not going to force anything. [An acquisition] will happen at some point down the road.”\u2014 CFO Daryl Bible on the bank’s M&A outlook\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nM&T Bank<\/ps-link> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> reported fourth-quarter profits Friday that beat analysts’ estimates by a wide margin, as the Buffalo, New York-based bank benefited from improved credit quality. <\/p>\nProcessing Content<\/p>\n
Net income of $759 million was up 11.5% from the same period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the $213.5 billion-asset bank earned $4.67 for the three months ending Dec. 31. The consensus forecast from Zacks Investment Service had predicted earnings per share of $4.44.<\/p>\n
“We are performing at a very high level,” Chief Financial Officer Daryl Bible said on a conference call with analysts. <\/p>\n
For all of 2025, M&T’s<\/ps-link> profit totaled $2.85 billion, a 10.2% increase from 2024 and the biggest profit in its history.<\/p>\nM&T<\/ps-link> produced those results against a backdrop of significantly improved asset quality.<\/p>\nNonaccrual loans declined steeply during the fourth quarter. They totaled $1.25 billion at Dec. 31, down 26% from a year earlier. Similarly, the level of criticized commercial-and-industrial and commercial real estate loans dropped to $7.3 billion from $9.9 billion a year earlier. <\/p>\n
M&T<\/ps-link> did report an uptick in net charge-offs, however. They totaled $185 million for the quarter, compared with $160 million for the same three months in 2024.<\/p>\nOf the $185 million in fourth-quarter net charge-offs, about $100 million went to resolving three previously identified problem credits, according to Bible.<\/p>\n
“When I look at our asset quality, it’s probably the best it’s been in the past couple decades,” Bible said on the conference call. “We are in really strong condition.”<\/p>\n
Indeed, at 0.90%, M&T’s<\/ps-link> ratio of nonaccrual loans to total loans was at the lowest level since 2007, he added. The ratio did reach the same mark in the second quarter of 2025.<\/p>\n“Overall, a better-than-expected fourth quarter, thanks largely to lower-than-expected credit costs,” Scott Siefers, an analyst who covers M&T<\/ps-link> for Piper Sandler, wrote in a research note.<\/p>\nThe company reported a $125 million provision for credit losses for the quarter ending Dec. 31, level with its third-quarter provision and down from the $140 million provision reported a year ago. <\/p>\n
Steven Alexopoulos, an analyst who covers M&T<\/ps-link> for TD Cowen, wrote that the provision for credit losses fell $18 million below his expectation.<\/p>\nFor the three months ending Dec. 31, M&T’s<\/ps-link> net interest income totaled $1.78 billion, up 3% from the same period in 2024. The spread income boost was powered by increases in loans, which rose 2% year over year to $138.7 billion, and deposits, which jumped 4% to $167 billion at year-end.<\/p>\nM&T<\/ps-link> reported quarterly fee income of $696 million, up 5.9% from 2024’s fourth quarter. The increase was driven in large part by a 32% year-over-year increase in mortgage banking revenue, which totaled $155 million for the three months ending Dec. 31, and trust income, which rose 5% to $184 million. <\/p>\nFee income growth outpaced the increase in noninterest expenses, which ticked up 1% from the Dec. 31, 2024, level to $1.38 billion. As a result, M&T’s<\/ps-link> efficiency ratio came in at 55.1% at the end of the fourth quarter, down from 56.8% a year earlier. <\/p>\nM&T<\/ps-link> maintains robust capital levels, with a common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 10.84% on Dec. 31.<\/p>\nDuring the call with analysts, M&T<\/ps-link> executives advertised an openness to merger deals<\/u><\/ps-link> in the bank’s 12-state Northeast and Mid-Atlantic footprint, stretching from New England to Central Virginia.<\/p>\nBut in the near term, continued growth will likely remain organic, Bible said on the call. <\/p>\n
“We want scale and density in the market we serve,” he said. “We’re not aware of anybody who wants to sell in those markets. \u2026 We’re not going to force anything. [An acquisition] will happen at some point down the road.”<\/p>\n
For now, M&T<\/ps-link> expects to utilize its capital to lend to customers and reward investors. <\/p>\n“First and foremost, pay a great, strong dividend, and we’re going to buy back a ton of stock,” Bible said.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to 2026, M&T<\/ps-link> expects to hold its operating expenses relatively flat, while achieving growth in loans and net interest income.<\/p>\n“Our company is, I think, doing well on all cylinders right now,” Bible said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key insight: M&T Chief Financial Officer Daryl Bible said the bank’s credit quality is the best it’s been in two decades. Why it matters: Reduced provision expenses combined with increased net interest income powered an 11.5% year-over-year jump in the fourth-quarter profits. Expert quote: “We’re not going to force anything. [An acquisition] will happen at<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218],"tags":[238,1095,2788,1280,3441,1000,5077],"class_list":{"0":"post-24696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-banking","8":"tag-credit","9":"tag-earnings","10":"tag-helps","11":"tag-higher","12":"tag-improved","13":"tag-push","14":"tag-quality"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}