Regulatory matters

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Regulatory Capital Requirements [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, 2020, approximately $1.3 billion was available for payment of dividends to M&T from banking subsidiaries. M&T 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 were previously required to maintain reserves against certain deposit liabilities. Effective March 26, 2020, the federal banking agencies eliminated reserve requirements for depository institutions to support lending to households and businesses. During the maintenance period that included December 31, 2019, cash and due from banks and interest-earning deposits at banks included a daily average of $666 million for such purpose.

M&T and its subsidiary banks are required to comply with applicable capital adequacy regulations established by the federal banking agencies. 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, 2020, the required minimum and well capitalized capital ratios are as follows:

				Well
	Minimum			Capitalized
●   Common equity Tier 1 ("CET1") 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	%

In addition, capital regulations require a “capital conservation buffer” of 2.5% composed entirely of CET1 on top of the minimum risk-weighted asset ratios.

The capital ratios and amounts of the Company and its banking subsidiaries as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 are presented below:

	M&T (Consolidated)			M&T Bank			Wilmington Trust, N.A.
	(Dollars in thousands)
December 31, 2020:
Common equity Tier 1 capital
Amount	$	10,623,368		$	11,550,462		$	630,574
Ratio(a)		10.00	%		10.90	%		46.57	%
Tier 1 capital
Amount		11,873,317			11,550,462			630,574
Ratio(a)		11.17	%		10.90	%		46.57	%
Total capital
Amount		14,207,937			13,373,416			632,506
Ratio(a)		13.37	%		12.62	%		46.72	%
Leverage
Amount		11,873,317			11,550,462			630,574
Ratio(b)		8.48	%		8.27	%		10.73	%
December 31, 2019:
Common equity Tier 1 capital
Amount	$	10,053,887		$	10,649,953		$	606,538
Ratio(a)		9.73	%		10.34	%		56.35	%
Tier 1 capital
Amount		11,303,836			10,649,953			606,538
Ratio(a)		10.94	%		10.34	%		56.35	%
Total capital
Amount		13,480,612			12,342,834			608,130
Ratio(a)		13.05	%		11.99	%		56.50	%
Leverage
Amount		11,303,836			10,649,953			606,538
Ratio(b)		9.59	%		9.08	%		13.12	%

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

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