Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Oct. 31, 2012
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	MTB
Entity Registrant Name	M&T BANK CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000036270
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		128,005,934