M&T Bank Expands Financial Access to Ethnically, Racially Diverse Communities

Bank designates 18 local branches as multicultural banking centers

On Jan 13, 2022

M&T Bank is expanding the services it provides to communities with high concentrations of ethnic and racial diversity by newly-designating 18 bank branches in New Jersey as multicultural banking centers.

The centers will offer banking and other financial services in customers’ preferred languages and employ bankers from the branch’s respective neighborhoods who understand the cultural nuances of the individuals and communities they serve. These branches are among the 118 multicultural banking centers the bank maintains throughout its Northeast and mid-Atlantic footprint.

The expansion of M&T’s multicultural banking centers is part of the company’s mission to be culturally fluent for all communities, especially as the region becomes more diverse. New Jersey’s Hispanic/Latino residents make up nearly 21% of the state population, while the Asian population increased almost a third between 2010 and 2020, now reaching 10% according to census data.

“As this nationwide demographic shift accelerates, our multicultural banking initiative will help us meet the changing needs of our communities,” said Tom Comiskey, M&T Bank’s regional president for New Jersey. “With our recent designation of new multicultural banking centers, we are demonstrating our clear intention to be the bank for all communities.”

In New Jersey, M&T will be converting the following branch locations into new multicultural banking centers:

• Bayonne branch, 547 Broadway, Bayonne
• Bayview branch, 532 Ocean Avenue, Jersey City
• Cliffside Park branch, 680 Anderson Avenue #684, Cliffside Park
• Cresskill branch, 80 Union Avenue, Cresskill
• Fifth Ward branch, 495 Manila Avenue, Jersey City
• Henry Street branch, 313 Henry Street, Orange
• Hoboken branch, 1018 Washington Street, Hoboken
• Jersey City branch, 2530 Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City
• Kendall Park branch, 3562 Route 27 Suite 130, Kendall Park
• Lodi branch, 304 Essex Street, Lodi
• Mount Vernon branch, 72 Mount Vernon Place, Newark
• New Milford branch, 715 River Road, New Milford
• North Brunswick branch, 523 Shoppes Blvd, North Brunswick
• Orange branch, 288 Main Street, Orange
• Park Place branch, 60 Park Place, Newark
• Paterson branch, 162 Main Street, Paterson
• Summit branch, 341 Springfield Avenue, Summit
• Union branch, 365 Tucker Avenue, Union

M&T currently operates existing multicultural banking centers at its North Bergen, Fort Lee and Teaneck branches.

“Our community model has always enabled us to develop a deep local understanding of the people and places we serve,” Comiskey said. “With our multicultural banking centers, we’re taking the natural next step – providing a distinctive M&T experience shaped by the preferences and perspectives of the diverse customers who rely on us. This locally customized, empathetic approach will help families and neighborhoods have easy access to credit services – an important priority for us and the communities we serve.”

At these multicultural banking centers, customers will be able to access banking services in multiple languages provided by bilingual employees and through M&T’s translation assistance platform. The centers will also create local opportunities for businesses, nonprofits and community members to attend networking events, financial literacy classes, collaborate on community projects and more.

The new centers build on M&T’s longstanding focus on local needs in its New Jersey communities:

• Through its relationship with Rutgers Business School, M&T provided $75,000 in seed money to launch the NJ BEST Patient Capital Fund to aid recovery of Black-owned businesses essential to their communities from the effects of the pandemic through low-cost, non-dilutive capital.
• The bank invested $1MM in New Jersey Community Capital’s Garden State Relief fund to assist small business owners across the state impacted by the adverse effects of the pandemic.
• In Paterson, M&T joined forces with the NJ Community Development Corporation to invest over $1MM in Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credits to complete their Great Falls Youth Center, in addition to numerous important development projects that provide housing, jobs and cultural services to the Paterson community.
• Honoring the region’s generations of immigrants, the team at M&T’s Orange branch sponsored the University of Orange’s Annual Music City Festival and together with the community celebrated the town’s rich cultural history and traditions.

“By providing access to banking services in multiple languages, we’ll open new pathways for our community to achieve financial empowerment,” said Marcela Ramirez, M&T senior retail sales strategy manager. “This designation has led to several actions locally to empower branch staff with new capabilities to serve our neighborhoods. Determined to fulfill our purpose to make a difference in people’s lives, it’s our goal to ensure our neighbors have more opportunities to connect with local bankers who understand their language, their culture and their needs.”

To make its digital banking tools easier to navigate for non-English speakers, the bank recently launched a Spanish-language website — available at mtb.com/es — that provides access to financial information and resources, including educational tools and online branch-appointment setting.

Additionally, M&T updated its ATM network to provide services in Chinese and Korean. At over 1,600 ATMs, customers are now able to complete cash transactions in Chinese, Korean, Spanish and English. M&T also offers phone assistance in 240 languages at 1-800-724-2440.

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