BUFFALO — M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) and Paramus, N.J.–based Hudson City Bancorp. Inc. continue their long-time efforts to finalize their merger that was first announced in late August 2012.
“Both parties remain committed to the merger, and, as you know, agreed to extend the date after which either party may terminate the merger agreement to April 30, 2015,” Rene Jones, vice chairman and CFO of M&T Bank, said in the company’s earnings conference call on Jan. 20.
The transaction was originally valued at $3.7 billion, according to an M&T news release dated Aug. 27, 2012.
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The two banking companies on Dec. 9, 2014, announced their agreement to move the completion date back from year’s end, according to a news release posted at the M&T Bank website.
M&T in early 2013 learned that the Federal Reserve identified certain regulatory concerns with its procedures, systems, and processes relating to M&T’s Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering compliance program (“BSA/AML”), according to the Dec. 9 news release.
M&T then launched an initiative, which is ongoing, seeking to “fully address” the Federal Reserve’s concerns.
BSA / AML is short for Bank Secrecy Act / Anti-Money Laundering, a compliance program with a manual providing guidance on identifying and controlling risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing, according to the online manual.
The Buffalo–based banking company made “significant progress” in addressing the issue in 2014, Jones said in the company’s earnings news release distributed on Jan. 20.
The extension will provide more time to obtain a regulatory determination on the applications necessary to complete the proposed merger.
However, M&T also noted that it can’t provide any assurance as to whether or when it will have the “necessary regulatory approvals for the merger.”
“We continue to believe strongly that M&T’s merger with Hudson City will be beneficial to both institutions, their shareholders and the customers and communities we serve, and we remain fully committed to the fruition of our agreement,” Robert Wilmers, chairman and CEO of M&T Bank, said.
Hudson City Bancorp is a Delaware corporation organized in 1999 and serves as the holding company of its only subsidiary, Hudson City Savings Bank. Hudson City Savings Bank operates 135 banking offices in the New York City metropolitan area, according to M&T Bank.
M&T’s Q4, 2014 earnings
M&T Bank earned $278 million in the fourth quarter, up 25 percent from $221 million in the year-ago period, as revenue increased and expenses stabilized.
Earnings per share in the fourth quarter totaled $1.92, up from $1.56 in the year-earlier quarter, M&T Bank said in its earnings news release.
For the full year, the banking company earned $1.07 billion, down from $1.14 billion earned in 2013. M&T’s earnings per common share totaled $7.42 in 2014, down from $8.20 in the previous year.
The 2013 results reflected after-tax gains from investment securities and loan-securitization transactions of $67 million ($110 million pre-tax).
M&T had total assets of $96.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2014, up 14 percent from $85.2 billion a year earlier.
Total deposits were $73.6 billion as of Dec. 31, up 10 percent from $67.1 billion at the end of 2013.
M&T Bank ranks first in deposit market share in the Syracuse metro area, with $2.7 billion in deposits and a 24.1 percent market share, according to June 30, 2014, statistics from the FDIC, the latest data available. It has 30 branch offices in the area.
M&T also ranks first in deposit market share in the full 16-county Central New York area with $5.1 billion in deposits and a 19.6 percent market share, operating from 67 branch offices, according to the FDIC data.
M&T is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo. M&T’s principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, operates banking offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.