Regulatory matters

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Banking and Thrift [Abstract]

Regulatory matters

23.    Regulatory matters

Payment of dividends by M&T’s banking subsidiaries is restricted by various legal and regulatory limitations. Dividends from any banking subsidiary to M&T are limited by the amount of earnings of the banking subsidiary in the current year and the preceding two years. For purposes of this test, at December 31, 2015, approximately $1.7 billion was available for payment of dividends to M&T from banking subsidiaries. Additionally, the Federal Reserve Board requires bank holding companies with $50 billion or more of total consolidated assets to submit annual capital plans. Such bank holding companies may pay dividends and repurchase stock only in accordance with a capital plan that the Federal Reserve Board has not objected to.

Banking regulations prohibit extensions of credit by the subsidiary banks to M&T unless appropriately secured by assets. Securities of affiliates are not eligible as collateral for this purpose.

The bank subsidiaries are required to maintain reserves against certain deposit liabilities. During the maintenance periods that included December 31, 2015 and 2014, cash and due from banks and interest-earning deposits at banks included a daily average of $664,586,000 and $555,575,000, respectively, for such purpose.

Beginning in 2015 new regulatory capital rules applicable to bank holding companies and banks became effective. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can result in certain mandatory, and possibly additional discretionary, actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements. Pursuant to the rules in effect as of December 31, 2015, the required minimum and well capitalized capital ratios are as follows:

	Minimum			Well capitalized
●   Common equity Tier 1 to risk-weighted assets		4.5	%		6.5	%
●   Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets		6.0	%		8.0	%
●   Total capital to risk-weighted assets		8.0	%		10.0	%
●   Leverage — Tier 1 capital to average total assets, as defined		4.0	%		5.0	%

Under the previous capital adequacy guidelines, Tier 1 capital and Total capital as a percentage of risk-weighted assets were required to be at least 4% and 8%, respectively. In addition, the required leverage ratio of Tier 1 capital to average total assets was 4%. At December 31, 2014, to be considered “well capitalized,” a banking institution had to maintain Tier 1 risk-based capital, total risk-based capital and leverage ratios at least 6%, 10% and 5%, respectively. As of December 31, 2015, M&T and each of its banking subsidiaries exceeded all applicable capital adequacy requirements.

The capital ratios and amounts of the Company and its banking subsidiaries as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 are presented below:

	M&T (Consolidated)			M&T Bank			Wilmington Trust, N.A.
	(Dollars in thousands)
December 31, 2015:
Common equity Tier 1 capital
Amount	$	10,485,426		$	10,680,827		$	476,106
Ratio(a)		11.08	%		11.33	%		86.87	%
Minimum required amount(b)		4,259,977			4,242,817			24,664
Tier 1 capital
Amount		12,008,232			10,680,827			476,106
Ratio(a)		12.68	%		11.33	%		86.87	%
Minimum required amount(b)		5,679,969			5,657,089			32,886
Total capital
Amount		14,128,454			12,589,917			480,415
Ratio(a)		14.92	%		13.35	%		87.65	%
Minimum required amount(b)		7,573,292			7,542,786			43,848
Leverage
Amount		12,008,232			10,680,827			476,106
Ratio(c)		10.89	%		9.75	%		22.38	%
Minimum required amount(b)		4,408,971			4,381,617			85,082
December 31, 2014:
Tier 1 capital
Amount	$	9,644,765		$	8,043,185		$	435,558
Ratio(a)		12.47	%		10.46	%		57.22	%
Minimum required amount(b)		3,093,874			3,077,101			30,447
Total capital
Amount		11,767,308			10,048,277			439,867
Ratio(a)		15.21	%		13.06	%		57.79	%
Minimum required amount(b)		6,187,747			6,154,201			60,893
Leverage
Amount		9,644,765			8,043,185			435,558
Ratio(c)		10.17	%		8.56	%		9.98	%
Minimum required amount(b)		3,793,836			3,760,364			174,613

(a) The ratio of capital to risk-weighted assets, as defined by regulation.

(b) Minimum amount of capital to be considered adequately capitalized, as defined by regulation.

(c) The ratio of capital to average assets, as defined by regulation.