M&T Bank expands financial access for multicultural communities

M&T Bank is expanding the services it provides to communities with high concentrations of ethnic and racial diversity by designating eight bank branches in Delaware as multicultural banking centers. M&T is contributing $100,000 to a loan program and other resources intended to help Latino and Black small-businesses owners thrive in Sussex County.

The newly designated centers will offer banking and other financial services in customers’ preferred languages, and employ bankers from the community who understand the cultural nuances of the individuals and communities they serve. These eight branches are among the 36 branches M&T has in Delaware and the 118 multicultural banking centers the bank maintains throughout its Northeast and mid-Atlantic footprint.

In Sussex County, M&T is supporting the work of La Plaza, a nonprofit partnership designed to increase the economic stability, prosperity and financial assets of Latinos through business and leadership development, and personal financial coaching. La Plaza coordinates the expertise of its nonprofit partners in business and financial coaching, business plan development, micro-lending and leadership development into a comprehensive bilingual package for the Latino community.

To support the work of La Plaza, M&T is represented on its advisory board and contributed $100,000 toward: helping fund the employment of La Plaza’s business/financial coach, who is based at La Esperanza Community Center in Georgetown; providing entrepreneurs access to a 12-week technical assistance and business plan program presented in English and Spanish, and developed by West End Neighborhood House; and starting a loan pool administered by True Access Capital that will make loans of $2,500 to $10,000 to small businesses, the first of which will be to recent graduates of the entrepreneur assistance program.

The expansion of M&T’s multicultural banking centers and support of La Plaza service collaborative are part of the bank’s mission to be culturally fluent for all communities, especially as the state becomes more diverse. The number of Delawareans who identified as Hispanic or Latino increased from 8.2 percent in 2010 to 10.5 percent in 2020, according to the latest U.S. Census. That growth was especially strong in Sussex County, which saw a 58 percent increase in respondents identifying as Hispanic or Latino, according to census data.

“As this demographic shift accelerates throughout Delaware, our multicultural banking initiative allows us to continuously meet the changing needs of our communities,” said Nick Lambrow, M&T’s regional president for Delaware. “With our recent designation of new multicultural banking centers and support of services for the Latino and Black communities in Sussex County, we are demonstrating our clear intention to be the bank for all communities.”

“La Plaza helps Sussex County Latinos achieve their vision for self-sufficiency by integrating their passion for family, faith, and community with the resources, information and support they need to thrive. The financial and volunteer support from M&T has been instrumental in making this initiative accessible to the county’s aspiring and existing entrepreneurs,” said Mary Dupont, project director for La Plaza.

M&T’s multicultural banking center locations were identified based on insights from community partners, M&T’s local bankers, and neighborhood-level census data on non-English speakers. The branches must employ at least one multilingual banker and be in a community with a population of at least 10 percent Asian American, Polish or Russian, or 20 percent Hispanic/Latino or Black.

In Delaware, M&T will convert the Georgetown Center and Dover Main branch locations into multicultural banking centers, in addition to six designated branches in New Castle County.

“This designation has led to several actions locally to empower branch staff with new capabilities to serve our neighborhoods,” said Matt Calhoun, M&T’s retail banking regional manager for Delaware. “Determined to fulfill our purpose of making a difference in people’s lives, our goal is to ensure our neighbors have more opportunities to connect with local bankers who understand their language, their culture and their needs.”

For example, Spanish-speaking bank staff at M&T’s Georgetown Center branch already are working with entrepreneurs participating in the Launcher program offered as part of La Plaza’s initiative.

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, providing access to financial information and resources including educational tools and online branch-appointment setting.

M&T also 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.