Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Feb. 20, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	MTB
Entity Registrant Name	M&T BANK CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000036270
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		128,727,372
Entity Public Float			$ 9,403,393,623