M&T Bank Acquisition Of People's United Becomes Official

CONNECTICUT — M&T Bank Corporation, the parent company of M&T Bank, announced on Saturday the completion of its $8.3 billion acquisition of People's United Financial, Inc., the parent of People's United Bank.

The combined company now employs more than 22,000 people and has a network of more than 1,000 branches and 2,200 ATMs that span 12 states from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C.

People's United common stock stopped trading on the NASDAQ market after Friday's closing.

"Today marks an important day in M&T's history as we welcome People's United to our family," said Rene Jones, the chairman and chief executive officer of M&T, who will lead the combined company in the same capacity. "People's United is a strong strategic and cultural fit and I am truly excited about the positive impact our combined company will have in the communities we serve. Together, we have the capabilities and scale of a regional bank with the engagement model of a community-based organization to help us better serve new and existing customers, businesses and communities."

The People's United headquarters in Bridgeport are now M&T's New England regional headquarters.

People's United customers will continue to be served through current branches, websites, mobile apps, financial advisers and "relationship managers" until its brand and systems are fully converted to M&T's, which is expected to occur in the third quarter of 2022, officials said. A timetable for the 747 projected layoffs in Connecticut has not been announced.

Customers from both M&T and People's United can now use any M&T Bank or People's United Bank ATM to withdraw cash, officials said.

As part of the merger, M&T Bank previously announced a five-year community growth plan – developed in collaboration with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and local community organizations – that will provide loans, investments and other financial support for low-to-moderate income families and neighborhoods across the combined M&T and People's United footprint.

Both M&T and People's United have a reputation for their "community commitments" and support of civic organizations. Over the past decade, M&T and its charitable foundation have contributed more than $279 million to more than 7,600 nonprofit groups. Since their inceptions, People's United Community Foundation and People's United Community Foundation of Eastern Massachusetts have collectively granted more than $47 million to thousands of nonprofits within the geographic areas they serve.