MTB, §1A diff (2018 → 2019)

Item 1A. Risk Factors. M&T and its subsidiaries could be adversely impacted by a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. As a financial institution certain risk elements are inherent in the ordinary course of the Company’s business activities and adverse experience with those risks could have a material impact on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as on the values of the Company’s financial instruments and M&T’s common stock. The Company has developed a risk management process to identify, understand, mitigate and balance its exposure to significant risks. The following risk factors set forth some of the risks that could materially and adversely impact the Company, although there may be additional risks that are not presently material or known that may adversely affect the Company. Market Risk Weakness in the economy has adversely affected the Company in the past and may adversely affect the Company in the future. Poor business and economic conditions in general or specifically in markets served by the Company could have adverse effects on the Company’s business including: • A decrease in the demand for loans and other products and services offered by the Company. • A decrease in net interest income derived from the Company’s lending and deposit gathering activities. • A decrease in the value of the Company’s investment securities, loans held for sale or other assets secured by residential or commercial real estate. • Other-than-temporary impairment of investment securities in the Company’s investment securities portfolio or other investments. • A decrease in fees from the Company’s brokerage and trust businesses associated with declines or lack of growth in stock market prices. • Potential higher FDIC assessments due to the DIF falling below minimum required levels. • An impairment of certain intangible assets, such as goodwill. • An increase in the number of customers and counterparties who become delinquent, file for protection under bankruptcy laws or default on their loans or other obligations to the Company. An increase in the number of delinquencies, bankruptcies or defaults could result in higher levels of nonperforming assets, net charge-offs, provision for credit losses and valuation adjustments on loans held for sale. The Company’s business and financial performance is impacted significantly by market interest rates and movements in those rates. The monetary, tax and other policies of governmental agencies, including the Federal Reserve, have a significant impact on interest rates and overall financial market performance over which the Company has no control and which the Company may not be able to anticipate adequately. As a result of the high percentage of the Company’s assets and liabilities that are in the form of interest-bearing or interest-related instruments, changes in interest rates, in the shape of the yield curve or in spreads between different market interest rates, can have a material effect on the Company’s business and profitability and the value of the Company’s assets and liabilities. For example, changes in interest rates or interest rate spreads may: • Affect the difference between the interest that the Company earns on assets and the interest that the Company pays on liabilities, which impacts the Company’s overall net interest income and profitability. • Adversely affect the ability of borrowers to meet obligations under variable or adjustable rate loans and other debt instruments, which, in turn, affects the Company’s loss rates on those assets. • Decrease the demand for interest rate based products and services, including loans and deposits. • Affect the Company’s ability to hedge various forms of market and interest rate risk and may decrease the profitability or protection or increase the risk or cost associated with such hedges. • Affect mortgage prepayment speeds and could result in the impairment of capitalized mortgage servicing assets, reduce the value of loans held for sale and increase the volatility of mortgage banking revenues, potentially adversely affecting the Company’s results of operations. The monetary, tax and other policies of the government and its agencies, including the Federal Reserve, have a significant impact on interest rates and overall financial market performance. These governmental policies can thus affect the activities and results of operations of banking organizations such as the Company. An important function of the Federal Reserve is to regulate the national supply of bank credit and certain interest rates. The actions of the Federal Reserve influence the rates of interest that the Company charges on loans and that the Company pays on borrowings and interest-bearing deposits and can also affect the value of the Company’s on-balance sheet and off-balance sheet financial instruments. Also, due to the impact on rates for short-term funding, the Federal Reserve’s policies influence, to a significant extent, the Company’s cost of such funding. In addition, the Company is routinely subject to examinations from various governmental taxing authorities. Such examinations may result in challenges to the tax return treatment applied by the Company to specific transactions. Management believes that the assumptions and judgment used to record tax-related assets or liabilities have been appropriate. Should tax laws change or the tax authorities determine that management’s assumptions were inappropriate, the result and adjustments required could have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations. M&T cannot predict the nature or timing of future changes in monetary, tax and other policies or the effect that they may have on the Company’s business activities, financial condition and results of operations. Changes in the method pursuant to which LIBOR and other benchmark rates are determined could adversely impact our business and results of operations. Our floating-rate funding, certain hedging transactions and certain of the products that we offer, such as floating-rate loans and mortgages, determine the applicable interest rate or payment amount by reference to a benchmark rate, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), or to an index, currency, basket or other financial metric. LIBOR and certain other benchmark rates are the subject of recent national, international, and other regulatory guidance and proposals for reform. In July 2017, the Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that the FCA intends to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. This announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis cannot and will not be guaranteed after 2021. Consequently, at this time, it is not possible to predict whether and to what extent banks will continue to provide submissions for the calculation of LIBOR. Similarly, it is not possible to predict whether LIBOR will continue to be viewed as an acceptable market benchmark, what rate or rates may become accepted alternatives to LIBOR, or what the effect of any such changes in views or alternatives may be on the markets for LIBOR-linked financial instruments. The discontinuation of LIBOR, changes in LIBOR or changes in market perceptions of the acceptability of LIBOR as a benchmark could result in changes to the Company’s risk exposures (for example, if the anticipated discontinuation of LIBOR adversely affects the availability or cost of floating-rate funding and, therefore, the Company’s exposure to fluctuations in interest rates) or otherwise result in losses on a product or having to pay more or receive less on securities that the Company owns or has issued. A substantial portion of the Company’s on- and off-balance sheet financial instruments (many of which have terms that extend beyond 2021) are indexed to LIBOR, including interest rate swap agreements and other contracts used for hedging and trading account purposes, loans to commercial customers and consumers (including mortgage loans and other loans), and long-term borrowings. In addition, such uncertainty could result in pricing volatility and increased capital requirements, loss of market share in certain products, adverse tax or accounting impacts, and compliance, legal and operational costs and risks. The Company’s business and performance is vulnerable to the impact of volatility in debt and equity markets. As most of the Company’s assets and liabilities are financial in nature, the Company’s performance is sensitive to the performance of the financial markets. Turmoil and volatility in U.S. and global financial markets can be a major contributory factor to overall weak economic conditions, leading to some of the risks discussed herein, including the impaired ability of borrowers and other counterparties to meet obligations to the Company. Financial market volatility may: • Affect the value or liquidity of the Company’s on-balance sheet and off-balance sheet financial instruments. • Affect the value of capitalized servicing assets. • Affect M&T’s ability to access capital markets to raise funds. Inability to access capital markets if needed, at cost effective rates, could adversely affect the Company’s liquidity and results of operations. • Affect the value of the assets that the Company manages or otherwise administers or services for others. Although the Company is not directly impacted by changes in the value of such assets, decreases in the value of those assets would affect related fee income and could result in decreased demand for the Company’s services. • Impact the nature, profitability or risk profile of the financial transactions in which the Company engages. Volatility in the markets for real estate and other assets commonly securing financial products has been and may continue to be a significant contributor to overall volatility in financial markets. In addition, unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by the imposition of tariffs or other limitations on international trade and travel, which can result in market volatility, negatively impact client activity, and adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. The Company’s regional concentrations expose it to adverse economic conditions in its primary retail banking office footprint. The Company’s core banking business is largely concentrated within the Company’s retail banking office network footprint, located principally in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Therefore, the Company is, or in the future may be, particularly vulnerable to adverse changes in economic conditions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Risks Relating to Compliance and the Regulatory Environment The Company is subject to extensive government regulation and supervision and this regulatory environment can be and has been significantly impacted by financial regulatory reform initiatives. The Company is subject to extensive federal and state regulation and supervision. Banking regulations are primarily intended to protect depositors’ funds, federal deposit insurance funds and the financial system as a whole, not stockholders. These regulations and supervisory guidance affect the Company’s lending practices, capital structure, amounts of capital, investment practices, dividend policy, growth and expansionary activity, among other things. Failure to comply with laws, regulations, policies or supervisory guidance could result in civil or criminal penalties, including monetary penalties, the loss of FDIC insurance, the revocation of a banking charter, other sanctions by regulatory agencies, and/or reputation damage, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. In this regard, government authorities, including the bank regulatory agencies, can pursue aggressive enforcement actions with respect to compliance and other legal matters involving financial activities, which heightens the risks associated with actual and perceived compliance failures and may also adversely affect the Company’s ability to enter into certain transactions or engage in certain activities, or obtain necessary regulatory approvals in connection therewith. In general, the amounts paid by financial institutions in settlement of proceedings or investigations have increased substantially and are likely to remain elevated. In some cases, governmental authorities have required criminal pleas or other extraordinary terms as part of such settlements, which could have significant collateral consequences for a financial institution, including loss of customers, restrictions on the ability to access the capital markets, and the inability to operate certain businesses or offer certain products for a period of time. In addition, enforcement matters could impact the Company’s supervisory and CRA ratings, which may in turn restrict or limit the Company’s activities. Any new regulatory requirements or changes to existing requirements could require changes to the Company’s businesses, result in increased compliance costs and affect the profitability of such businesses. Additionally, such activity could affect the behaviors of third parties with which the Company deals in the ordinary course of business, such as rating agencies, insurance companies and investors. Heightened regulatory practices, requirements or expectations could affect the Company in substantial and unpredictable ways, and, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. There have been significant revisions to the laws and regulations applicable to the Company that have been enacted or proposed in recent months. These and other rules to implement the changes have yet to be finalized, and the final timing, scope and impact of these changes to the regulatory framework applicable to financial institutions remain uncertain. For more information on the regulations to which we are subject and recent initiatives to reform financial institution regulation, see Part I, Item 1 - Business in this report. Capital and liquidity standards adopted by the U.S. banking regulators have resulted in banks and bank holding companies needing to maintain more and higher quality capital and greater liquidity than has historically been the case. Capital standards imposed as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act (as amended by EGRRCPA) and the U.S. Basel III-based capital rules have had a significant effect on banks and bank holding companies, including M&T. The U.S. capital rules require bank holding companies and their bank subsidiaries to maintain substantially more capital, with a greater emphasis on common equity. For additional information, see “Capital Requirements” under Part I, Item 1 “Business.” The requirement to maintain more and higher quality capital, as well as greater liquidity than historically has been required, and generally increased regulatory scrutiny with respect to capital and liquidity levels, could limit the Company’s business activities, including lending, and its ability to expand, either organically or through acquisitions. It could also result in M&T being required to take steps to increase its regulatory capital that may be dilutive to shareholders or limit its ability to pay dividends or otherwise return capital to shareholders, or sell or refrain from acquiring assets, the capital requirements for which are not justified by the assets’ underlying risks. In addition, the U.S. Basel III-based liquidity coverage ratio requirement and the liquidity-related provisions of the Federal Reserve’s liquidity-related enhanced prudential supervision requirements require the Company to hold increased levels of unencumbered highly liquid investments, thereby reducing the Company’s ability to invest in other longer-term assets even if deemed more desirable from a balance sheet management perspective. Moreover, U.S. federal banking agencies have been taking into account expectations regarding the ability of banks to meet these requirements, including under stressed conditions, in approving actions that represent uses of capital, such as dividend increases, common stock share repurchases and acquisitions. Certain elements of these capital and liquidity standards may be eased in the future consistent with recently issued and anticipated proposals by the Federal banking agencies following the enactment of EGRRCPA. However, the ultimate timing and implementation of such relief is unclear and therefore the Company expects to remain subject to these standards in the near term. M&T’s ability to return capital to shareholders and to pay dividends on common stock may be adversely affected by market and other factors outside of its control and will depend, in part, on a review of its capital plan by the Federal Reserve. Any decision by M&T to return capital to shareholders, whether through a common stock dividend or through a common stock share repurchase program, requires the approval of M&T’s Board of Directors and depends in large part on receiving regulatory approval, including through the Federal Reserve’s CCAR process and the supervisory stress tests required under the Dodd-Frank Act whereby M&T’s financial position is tested under assumed severely adverse economic conditions. Prior to the public disclosure of a BHC’s CCAR results, the Federal Reserve will provide the BHC with the results of its supervisory stress test and will offer a one-time opportunity for the BHC to reduce planned capital distributions through the submission of a revised capital plan. The Federal Reserve may object to any capital plan in which a BHC’s regulatory capital ratios inclusive of adjustments to planned capital distributions, if any, would not meet the minimum requirements throughout a nine-quarter period under severely adverse stress conditions. In January 2017, the Federal Reserve finalized a rule modifying the capital plan and stress testing rules for the 2017 cycle. The rule eliminated the qualitative component of CCAR for bank holding companies with total consolidated assets between $50 billion and $250 billion, such as M&T. The qualitative assessment considered factors including the comprehensiveness of a BHC’s capital plan, the assumptions and analysis underlying the plan, and the extent to which the BHC had satisfied certain supervisory matters related to its processes, analyses, controls and governance. The Federal Reserve will continue to evaluate these factors through the regular supervisory process and targeted horizontal reviews of particular aspects of capital planning. If the Federal Reserve objects to M&T’s capital plan, it could impose restrictions on M&T’s ability to return capital to shareholders, including through paying dividends, entering into acquisitions or repurchasing its common stock, which in turn could negatively impact market and investor perceptions of M&T. In June 2018, the Federal Reserve announced that it did not object to M&T’s revised capital plan; however, M&T cannot be certain that the Federal Reserve will not object to future capital plans. In addition, Federal Reserve capital planning and stress testing rules generally limit a BHC’s ability to make quarterly capital distributions - dividends and common stock share repurchases - if the amount of actual cumulative quarterly capital issuances of instruments that qualify as regulatory capital are less than the BHC had indicated in its submitted capital plan as to which it received a non-objection from the Federal Reserve. As such, M&T’s ability to declare and pay dividends on its common stock, as well as the amount of such dividends, will depend, in part, on its ability to issue stock in accordance with its capital plan or to otherwise remain in compliance with its capital plan, which may be adversely affected by market and other factors outside of M&T’s control. Certain elements of these stress testing and capital planning requirements may be eased in the future consistent with recently issued and anticipated proposals by the Federal banking agencies following the enactment of EGRRCPA. However, the ultimate timing and implementation of such relief is unclear and therefore the Company expects to remain subject to these standards in the near term. The effect of resolution plan requirements may have a material adverse impact on M&T. Bank holding companies with consolidated assets of $100 billion or more, such as M&T, are currently required to submit periodically to regulators a resolution plan for their rapid and orderly resolution in the event of material financial distress or failure. M&T’s resolution plan must, among other things, ensure that its depository institution subsidiaries are adequately protected from risks arising from its other subsidiaries. The regulation adopted by the Federal Reserve and FDIC prescribes specific standards for the resolution plans, including requiring a strategic analysis of the plan’s components, a description of the range of specific actions the Company proposes to take in resolution, and a description of the Company’s organizational structure, material entities, core business lines, interconnections and interdependencies, and management information systems, among other elements. The most recent resolution plan for M&T was filed in December 2017. In addition, insured depository institutions with $50 billion or more in total assets, such as M&T Bank, are required to submit to the FDIC periodic plans for resolution in the event of the institution’s failure. M&T Bank submitted its most recent resolution plan in June 2018. If the Federal Reserve and the FDIC jointly determine that the resolution plan of a BHC is not credible, and the company fails to cure the deficiencies in a timely manner, then the Federal Reserve and the FDIC may jointly impose on the company, or on any of its subsidiaries, more stringent capital, leverage or liquidity requirements or restrictions on growth, activities or operations, or require the divestment of certain assets or operations. If the Federal Reserve and the FDIC jointly determine that M&T’s resolution plan is not credible or would not facilitate its orderly resolution under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the Company could become subject to more stringent regulatory requirements or business restrictions, or have to divest certain of its assets or businesses. Any such measures could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations. If an orderly liquidation of a systemically important BHC or non-bank financial company were triggered, M&T could face assessments for the Orderly Liquidation Fund (“OLF”). The Dodd-Frank Act creates a mechanism, the OLF, for liquidation of systemically important bank holding companies and non-bank financial companies. The OLF is administered by the FDIC and is based on the FDIC’s bank resolution model. The Secretary of the U.S. Treasury may trigger a liquidation under this authority after consultation with the President of the U.S. and after receiving a recommendation from the boards of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve upon a two-thirds vote. Liquidation proceedings will be funded by the OLF, which will borrow from the U.S. Treasury and impose risk-based assessments on covered financial companies. Risk-based assessments would be first made on entities that received more in the resolution than they would have received in the liquidation to the extent of such excess, and second, if necessary, on, among others, bank holding companies with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more, such as M&T. Any such assessments may adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations. Credit Risk Deteriorating credit quality could adversely impact the Company. As a lender, the Company is exposed to the risk that customers will be unable to repay their loans in accordance with the terms of the agreements, and that any collateral securing the loans may be insufficient to assure full repayment. Credit losses are inherent in the business of making loans. Factors that influence the Company’s credit loss experience include overall economic conditions affecting businesses and consumers, generally, but also residential and commercial real estate valuations, in particular, given the size of the Company’s real estate loan portfolios. Factors that can influence the Company’s credit loss experience include: (i) the impact of residential real estate values on loans to residential real estate builders and developers and other loans secured by residential real estate; (ii) the concentrations of commercial real estate loans in the Company’s loan portfolio; (iii) the amount of commercial and industrial loans to businesses in areas of New York State outside of the New York City area and in central Pennsylvania that have historically experienced less economic growth and vitality than many other regions of the country; (iv) the repayment performance associated with first and second lien loans secured by residential real estate; and (v) the size of the Company’s portfolio of loans to individual consumers, which historically have experienced higher net charge-offs as a percentage of loans outstanding than loans to other types of borrowers. Commercial real estate valuations can be highly subjective as they are based upon many assumptions. Such valuations can be significantly affected over relatively short periods of time by changes in business climate, economic conditions, interest rates and, in many cases, the results of operations of businesses and other occupants of the real property. Similarly, residential real estate valuations can be impacted by housing trends, the availability of financing at reasonable interest rates, governmental policy regarding housing and housing finance, and general economic conditions affecting consumers. The Company maintains an allowance for credit losses which represents, in management’s judgment, the amount of losses inherent in the loan and lease portfolio. The allowance is determined by management’s evaluation of the loan and lease portfolio based on such factors as the differing economic risks associated with each loan category, the current financial condition of specific borrowers, the economic environment in which borrowers operate, the level of delinquent loans, the value of any collateral and, where applicable, the existence of any guarantees or indemnifications. The effects of probable decreases in expected principal cash flows on loans acquired at a discount are also considered in the establishment of the allowance for credit losses. Management believes that the allowance for credit losses appropriately reflects credit losses inherent in the loan and lease portfolio. However, there is no assurance that the allowance will be sufficient to cover such credit losses, particularly if housing and employment conditions worsen or the economy experiences a downturn. In those cases, the Company may be required to increase the allowance through an increase in the provision for credit losses, which would reduce net income. The Company may be adversely affected by the soundness of other financial institutions. Financial services institutions are interrelated as a result of trading, clearing, counterparty, or other relationships. The Company has exposure to many different industries and counterparties, and routinely executes transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including commercial banks, brokers and dealers, investment banks, and other institutional clients. Many of these transactions expose the Company to credit risk in the event of a default by a counterparty or client. In addition, the Company’s credit risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by the Company cannot be realized or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the credit or derivative exposure due to the Company. Any resulting losses could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Liquidity Risk The Company must maintain adequate sources of funding and liquidity. The Company must maintain adequate funding sources in the normal course of business to support its operations and fund outstanding liabilities, as well as meet regulatory expectations. The Company primarily relies on deposits to be a low cost and stable source of funding for the loans it makes and the operations of its business. Core customer deposits, which include noninterest-bearing deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, savings deposits and time deposits of $250,000 or less, have historically provided the Company with a sizeable source of relatively stable and low-cost funds. In addition to customer deposits, sources of liquidity include borrowings from third party banks, securities dealers, various Federal Home Loan Banks and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The Company’s liquidity and ability to fund and operate the business could be materially adversely affected by a variety of conditions and factors, including financial and credit market disruptions and volatility or a lack of market or customer confidence in financial markets in general, which may result in a loss of customer deposits or outflows of cash or collateral and/or ability to access capital markets on favorable terms. Negative news about the Company or the financial services industry generally may reduce market or customer confidence in the Company, which could in turn materially adversely affect the Company’s liquidity and funding. Such reputational damage may result in the loss of customer deposits, the inability to sell or securitize loans or other assets, and downgrades in one or more of the Company’s credit ratings, and may also negatively affect the Company’ ability to access the capital markets. A downgrade in the Company’s credit ratings, which could result from general industry-wide or regulatory factors not solely related to the Company, could adversely affect the Company’s ability to borrow funds, including by raising the cost of borrowings substantially, and could cause creditors and business counterparties to raise collateral requirements or take other actions that could adversely affect M&T’s ability to raise capital. Many of the above conditions and factors may be caused by events over which M&T has little or no control. There can be no assurance that significant disruption and volatility in the financial markets will not occur in the future. Recent regulatory changes relating to liquidity and risk management have also impacted the Company’s results of operations and competitive position. These regulations address, among other matters, liquidity stress testing, minimum liquidity requirements and restrictions on short-term debt issued by top-tier holding companies. If the Company is unable to continue to fund assets through customer bank deposits or access funding sources on favorable terms or if the Company suffers an increase in borrowing costs or otherwise fails to manage liquidity effectively, the Company’s liquidity, operating margins, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. M&T relies on dividends from its subsidiaries for its liquidity. M&T is a separate and distinct legal entity from its subsidiaries. M&T typically receives substantially all of its revenue from subsidiary dividends. These dividends are M&T’s principal source of funds to pay dividends on common and preferred stock, pay interest and principal on its debt, and fund purchases of its common stock. Various federal and/or state laws and regulations, as well as regulatory expectations, limit the amount of dividends that M&T’s banking subsidiaries and certain non-bank subsidiaries may pay. Regulatory scrutiny of capital levels at bank holding companies and insured depository institution subsidiaries has increased in recent years and has resulted in increased regulatory focus on all aspects of capital planning, including dividends and other distributions to shareholders of banks, such as parent bank holding companies. See “Item 1. Business - Distributions” for a discussion of regulatory and other restrictions on dividend declarations. Also, M&T’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of that subsidiary’s creditors. Limitations on M&T’s ability to receive dividends from its subsidiaries could have a material adverse effect on its liquidity and ability to pay dividends on its stock or interest and principal on its debt, and ability to fund purchases of its common stock. Strategic Risk The financial services industry is highly competitive and creates competitive pressures that could adversely affect the Company’s revenue and profitability. The financial services industry in which the Company operates is highly competitive. The Company competes not only with commercial and other banks and thrifts, but also with insurance companies, mutual funds, hedge funds, securities brokerage firms and other companies offering financial services in the U.S., globally and over the Internet. Some of the Company’s non-bank competitors are not subject to the same extensive regulations the Company is, and may have greater flexibility in competing for business. In particular, the activity and prominence of so-called marketplace lenders and other technological financial services companies has grown significantly in recent years and is expected to continue growing. The Company competes on the basis of several factors, including capital, access to capital, revenue generation, products, services, transaction execution, innovation, reputation and price. Over time, certain sectors of the financial services industry have become more concentrated, as institutions involved in a broad range of financial services have been acquired by or merged into other firms. These developments could result in the Company’s competitors gaining greater capital and other resources, such as a broader range of products and services and geographic diversity. The Company may experience pricing pressures as a result of these factors and as some of its competitors seek to increase market share by reducing prices or paying higher rates of interest on deposits. Finally, technological change is influencing how individuals and firms conduct their financial affairs and is changing the delivery channels for financial services. Financial technology providers, who invest substantial resources in developing and designing new technology (in particular digital and mobile technology), are beginning to offer more traditional banking products (either directly or through bank partnerships) and may in the future be able to provide additional services by obtaining a bank-like charter, such as the OCC’s fintech charter. As a result, the Company may have to contend with a broader range of competitors including many that are not located within the geographic footprint of its banking office network. Further, along with other participants in the financial services industry, the Company frequently attempts to introduce new technology-driven products and services that are aimed at allowing the Company to better serve customers and to reduce costs. The Company may not be able to effectively implement new technology-driven products and services that allow it to remain competitive or be successful in marketing these products and services to its customers. Difficulties in combining the operations of acquired entities with the Company’s own operations may prevent M&T from achieving the expected benefits from its acquisitions. M&T has expanded its business through past acquisitions and may do so in the future. Inherent uncertainties exist when integrating the operations of an acquired entity. M&T may not be able to fully achieve its strategic objectives and planned operating efficiencies in an acquisition. In addition, the markets and industries in which the Company and its actual or potential acquisition targets operate are highly competitive. The Company may lose customers or fail to retain the customers of acquired entities as a result of an acquisition. Acquisition and integration activities require M&T to devote substantial time and resources, and as a result M&T may not be able to pursue other business opportunities while integrating acquired entities with the Company. After completing an acquisition, the Company may not realize the expected benefits of the acquisition due to lower financial results pertaining to the acquired entity. For example, the Company could experience higher credit losses, incur higher operating expenses or realize less revenue than originally anticipated related to an acquired entity. Operational Risk The Company is subject to operational risk which could adversely affect the Company’s business and reputation and create material legal and financial exposure. Like all businesses, the Company is subject to operational risk, which represents the risk of loss resulting from human error, inadequate or failed internal processes and systems, and external events. Operational risk also encompasses reputational risk and compliance and legal risk, which is the risk of loss from violations of, or noncompliance with, laws, rules, regulations, prescribed practices or ethical standards, as well as the risk of noncompliance with contractual and other obligations. The Company is also exposed to operational risk through outsourcing arrangements, and the effect that changes in circumstances or capabilities of its outsourcing vendors can have on the Company’s ability to continue to perform operational functions necessary to its business. Although the Company seeks to mitigate operational risk through a system of internal controls that are reviewed and updated, no system of controls, however well designed and maintained, is infallible. Control weaknesses or failures or other operational risks could result in charges, increased operational costs, harm to the Company’s reputation or foregone business opportunities. M&T could suffer if it fails to attract and retain skilled personnel. M&T’s success depends, in large part, on its ability to attract and retain key individuals and to have a diverse workforce. Competition for qualified and diverse candidates in the activities in which the Company engages and markets that the Company serves is significant, and the Company may not be able to hire candidates and retain them. Growth in the Company’s business, including through acquisitions, may increase its need for additional qualified personnel. The Company is increasingly competing for personnel with financial technology providers and other less regulated entities who may not have the same limitations on compensation as the Company does. If the Company is not able to hire or retain highly skilled and qualified individuals, it may be unable to execute its business strategies and may suffer adverse consequences to its business, financial condition and results of operations. The Company’s compensation practices are subject to review and oversight by the Federal Reserve, the OCC, the FDIC and other regulators. The federal banking agencies have issued joint guidance on executive compensation designed to help ensure that a banking organization’s incentive compensation policies do not encourage imprudent risk taking and are consistent with the safety and soundness of the organization. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act required those agencies, along with the SEC, to adopt rules to require reporting of incentive compensation and to prohibit certain compensation arrangements. If as a result of complying with such rules the Company is unable to attract and retain qualified employees, or do so at rates necessary to maintain its competitive position, or if the compensation costs required to attract and retain employees become more significant, the Company’s performance, including its competitive position, could be materially adversely affected. The Company’s information systems may experience interruptions or breaches in security. The Company relies heavily on communications and information systems, including those of third-party service providers, to conduct its business. Any failure, interruption or breach in security of these systems could result in disruptions to its accounting, deposit, loan and other systems, and adversely affect the Company’s customer relationships. While the Company has policies and procedures designed to prevent or limit the effect of these possible events, there can be no assurance that any such failure, interruption or security breach will not occur or, if any does occur, that it can be sufficiently or timely remediated. Information security risks for large financial institutions such as M&T have increased significantly in recent years in part because of the proliferation of new technologies, such as Internet and mobile banking to conduct financial transactions, and the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime, hackers, terrorists, nation-states, activists and other external parties. There have been increasing efforts on the part of third parties, including through cyber attacks, to breach data security at financial institutions or with respect to financial transactions. There have been several instances involving financial services and consumer-based companies reporting unauthorized access to and disclosure of client or customer information or the destruction or theft of corporate data, including by executive impersonation and third party vendors. There have also been several highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information. As cyber threats continue to evolve, the Company may be required to expend significant additional resources to continue to modify or enhance its layers of defense or to investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities. The techniques used by cyber criminals change frequently, may not be recognized until launched and can be initiated by a variety of actors, including terrorist organizations and hostile foreign governments. These actors may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, customers or other users of the Company’s systems to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to data or the Company’s systems. These risks may increase as the use of mobile payment and other Internet-based applications expands. Further, third parties with which the Company does business, as well as vendors and other third parties with which the Company’s customers do business, can also be sources of information security risk to the Company, particularly where activities of customers are beyond the Company’s security and control systems, such as through the use of the Internet, personal computers, tablets, smart phones and other mobile services. Security breaches affecting the Company’s customers, or systems breakdowns or failures, security breaches or employee misconduct affecting such other third parties, may require the Company to take steps to protect the integrity of its own systems or to safeguard confidential information of the Company or its customers, thereby increasing the Company’s operational costs and adversely affecting its business. The occurrence of any failure, interruption or security breach of the Company’s systems or those of third-party service providers (or, in turn, providers to such third-party providers), particularly if widespread or resulting in financial losses to customers, could damage the Company’s reputation, result in a loss of customer business, subject the Company to additional regulatory scrutiny and potential sanctions, or expose it to civil litigation and financial liability. The Company is also subject to laws and regulations relating to the privacy of the information of clients, employees or others, and any failure to comply with these laws and regulations could expose the Company to liability and/or reputational damage. As new privacy-related laws and regulations, such as the cybersecurity regulation of the NYSDFS, are implemented, the time and resources needed for the Company to comply with such laws and regulations, as well as its potential liability for non-compliance and reporting obligations in the case of data breaches, may significantly increase. In addition, the Company is increasingly subject to laws and regulations relating to privacy, surveillance, encryption and data use in the jurisdictions in which it operates. Compliance with these laws and regulations may require changes to policies, procedures and technology for information security and segregation of data, which could, among other things, make the Company more vulnerable to operational failures, and to monetary penalties for breach of such laws and regulations. M&T relies on other companies to provide key components of the Company’s business infrastructure. Third parties provide key components of the Company’s business infrastructure such as banking services, processing, and Internet connections and network access. Any disruption in such services provided by these third parties or any failure of these third parties to handle current or higher volumes of use could adversely affect the Company’s ability to deliver products and services to clients and otherwise to conduct business. Technological or financial difficulties of a third party service provider could adversely affect the Company’s business to the extent those difficulties result in the interruption or discontinuation of services provided by that party. The Company may not be insured against all types of losses as a result of third party failures and insurance coverage may be inadequate to cover all losses resulting from system failures or other disruptions. Failures in the Company’s business infrastructure could interrupt the operations or increase the costs of doing business. The Company is or may become involved from time to time in suits, legal proceedings, information-gathering requests, investigations and proceedings by governmental and self-regulatory agencies that may lead to adverse consequences. Many aspects of the Company’s business and operations involve substantial risk of legal liability. M&T and/or its subsidiaries have been named or threatened to be named as defendants in various lawsuits arising from its or its subsidiaries’ business activities (and in some cases from the activities of companies M&T has acquired). In addition, from time to time, M&T is, or may become, the subject of governmental and self-regulatory agency information-gathering requests, reviews, investigations and proceedings and other forms of regulatory inquiry, including by bank and other regulatory agencies, the SEC and law enforcement authorities. The SEC has announced a policy of seeking admissions of liability in certain settled cases, which could adversely impact the defense of private litigation. M&T is also at risk when it has agreed to indemnify others for losses related to legal proceedings, including for litigation and governmental investigations and inquiries, such as in connection with the purchase or sale of a business or assets. The results of such proceedings could lead to significant civil or criminal penalties, including monetary penalties, damages, adverse judgments, settlements, fines, injunctions, restrictions on the way in which the Company conducts its business, or reputational harm. Although the Company establishes accruals for legal proceedings when information related to the loss contingencies represented by those matters indicates both that a loss is probable and that the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated, the Company does not have accruals for all legal proceedings where it faces a risk of loss. In addition, due to the inherent subjectivity of the assessments and unpredictability of the outcome of legal proceedings, amounts accrued may not represent the ultimate loss to the Company from the legal proceedings in question. Thus, the Company’s ultimate losses may be higher, and possibly significantly so, than the amounts accrued for legal loss contingencies, which could adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Business Risk Changes in accounting standards could impact the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. The accounting standard setters, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), the SEC and other regulatory bodies, periodically change the financial accounting and reporting standards that govern the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements. These changes can be difficult to predict and can materially impact how the Company records and reports its financial condition and results of operations. In some cases, the Company could be required to apply a new or revised standard retroactively, which would result in the restating of the Company’s prior period financial statements. Information about recently adopted and not as yet adopted accounting standards is included in note 26 of Notes to Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplemental Data of this Form 10-K. The Company’s reported financial condition and results of operations depend on management’s selection of accounting methods and require management to make estimates about matters that are uncertain. Accounting policies and processes are fundamental to the Company’s reported financial condition and results of operations. Some of these policies require use of estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported amounts of assets or liabilities and financial results. Several of M&T’s accounting policies are critical because they require management to make difficult, subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain and because it is likely that materially different amounts would be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions. Pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles, management is required to make certain assumptions and estimates in preparing the Company’s financial statements. If assumptions or estimates underlying the Company’s financial statements are incorrect, the Company may experience material losses. Management has identified certain accounting policies as being critical because they require management’s judgment to ascertain the valuations of assets, liabilities, commitments and contingencies. A variety of factors could affect the ultimate value that is obtained either when earning income, recognizing an expense, recovering an asset, valuing an asset or liability, or recognizing or reducing a liability. M&T has established detailed policies and control procedures that are intended to ensure these critical accounting estimates and judgments are well controlled and applied consistently. In addition, the policies and procedures are intended to ensure that the process for changing methodologies occurs in an appropriate manner. Because of the uncertainty surrounding judgments and the estimates pertaining to these matters, M&T could be required to adjust accounting policies or restate prior period financial statements if those judgments and estimates prove to be incorrect. For additional information, see Part II, Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, “Critical Accounting Estimates” and Note 1, “Significant Accounting Policies,” of Notes to Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8. The Company’s models used for business planning purposes could perform poorly or provide inadequate information. The Company uses quantitative models to assist in measuring risks and estimating or predicting certain financial values. The models used may not accurately account for all variables and may fail to predict outcomes accurately and/or may overstate or understate certain effects. Poorly designed, implemented, or managed models present the risk that the Company’s business decisions that consider information based on such models will be adversely affected due to inadequate or inaccurate information. As a result, the Company may not adequately prepare for future events and may suffer losses due to these failures. Also, information the Company provides to the public or to its regulators based on poorly designed, implemented, or managed models could be inaccurate or misleading. Decisions that regulators make, including those related to capital distributions to stockholders, could be affected adversely due to the perception that the quality of the models used to generate the relevant information is insufficient. The Company is exposed to reputational risk. A negative public opinion of the Company and its business can result from any number of activities, including the Company’s lending practices, corporate governance and regulatory compliance, acquisitions and actions taken by regulators or by community organizations in response to these activities. Significant harm to the Company’s reputation could also arise as a result of regulatory or governmental actions, litigation, employee misconduct or the activities of customers, other participants in the financial services industry or the Company’s contractual counterparties, such as service providers and vendors. In particular, a cyber security event impacting the Company’s or its customers’ data could have a negative impact on the Company’s reputation and customer confidence in the Company and its cyber security. Damage to the Company’s reputation could also adversely affect its credit ratings and access to the capital markets. Severe weather, natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism and other external events could significantly impact the Company’s business. Severe weather, natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism and other adverse external events could have a significant impact on the Company’s ability to conduct business. Such events could affect the stability of the Company’s deposit base, impair the ability of borrowers to repay outstanding loans, impair the value of collateral securing loans, cause significant property damage, result in loss of revenue and/or cause the Company to incur additional expenses. Although the Company has established disaster recovery plans and procedures, and monitors for significant environmental effects on its properties or its investments, the occurrence of any such event could have a material adverse effect on the Company. Discussions of the specific risks outlined above and other risks facing the Company are included within this Annual Report on Form 10-K in Part I, Item 1 “Business,” and Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Furthermore, in Part II, Item 7 under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements” is included a description of certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions identified by management that are difficult to predict and that could materially affect the Company’s financial condition and results of operations, as well as the value of the Company’s financial instruments in general, and M&T common stock, in particular. In addition, the market price of M&T common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of other factors, including changes in securities analysts’ estimates of financial performance, volatility of stock market prices and volumes, rumors or erroneous information, changes in market valuations of similar companies and changes in accounting policies or procedures as may be required by the FASB or other regulatory agencies. Item 1B.