M&T Bank is days away from becoming the 14th largest bank in the nation. The Federal Reserve Bank, on Wednesday approved the merger with Hudson City Bancorp, more than three years after application.
The merger stalled over a series of compliance issues in the current regulatory climate and because of concerns about money laundering controls.
"We've done a number of transactions that have not just grown M&T in terms of size but really transformed M&T," said spokesman Michael Zabel.
"We deepened our presence in the Mid-Atlantic. We gained Wilmington Trust, so we gained a presence in Delaware on the retail banking front but also gained a whole array of new wealth and trust management services."
Initially, Hudson will bring 135 branches and 1500 employees to the expanded M&T. This also means the local bank will pick up a major presence in New Jersey and Connecticut to go with other parts of the bank going down into Delaware.
