M&T Bank has received an "Outstanding" Community Reinvestment Act rating from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, representing the highest possible rating of how well the bank meets the credit needs of the communities it serves.

M&T has earned the highest rating awarded by the Federal Reserve Bank on each of its period CRA exams since 1982.

Major factors of the bank's performance cited by the Federal Reserve include:

  * The bank was a leader in making community development loans and
    qualified investments.

  * The distribution of loans to individuals of different income levels and
    businesses of different sizes was good.

  * Retail delivery systems were readily accessible to geographies and
    individuals of different income levels.

"We continue working hard to meet the credit needs of all the communities served by M&T Bank. Our grade on this assessment is gratifying, but the larger reward is seeing our hard work result in new affordable housing units and other community investments that strengthen the communities where we live and work," said JoAnne Schwartz, Corporate CRA Officer for M&T.

The recently issued rating is based on M&T's performance between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2005. Federal regulators spent several months reviewing the bank's lending, service and investment data.

During the two-year assessment period, M&T made 305 community development loans for affordable housing, economic development and other community projects totaling almost $1 billion.

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 was enacted by Congress to encourage financial institutions to meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate.

M&T Bank serves customers at more than 670 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.