Banker & Tradesman file photo
The new chief financial officer of M&T Bank has four focus areas he intends to work on to polish operations in the regional bank.
Daryl Bible said during the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference on Monday that he has four focus areas as a new CFO of M&T: modernizing finance, helping M&T operate at scale, aiding the bank to make better investment decisions, and growing and developing talent.
Bible said new tech and systems implementation will also have corresponding changes in processes to help maximize the usage of new tech. The public can expect some changes in how the bank discloses its earnings investor presentations, as the bank looks at modernizing how M&T Bank is seen by the public.
He said he would help build the foundation for M&T to operate large amounts of liquidity from a risk and data perspective, after having experienced it in Truist’s predecessor BB&T.
The new CFO will also improve investment and fund management decisions in the bank, citing the focus on “where the priorities of the company is, which is growing in the New England market. [I will make sure to have] discipline, and those investments going to the right places, getting returns, also holding accountability, and have monthly meetings like what we did in US Bank, monitor and track how we’re doing.”
During the event, Bible said the bank has shrunk its commercial real estate portfolio from 31 percent to 26 percent, and that the bank will see CRE lending to be flat or slightly down this year due to the unfavorable office market and high-interest rate environment at present.
He said “client selection really matters” in terms of CRE loans amid the challenging environment, but pointed out that they have the funds to support clients despite the 150bps risk rating. He said the bank will try to keep losses lower and still keep clients that are loyal to M&T Bank.
Deposit-wise, the bank is focusing on New England as a growth area, and is continuing to offer competitive deposit rates with which it already won some depositors, the new CFO said.
Currently, M&T Bank has a 4.50 percent annual percentage yield for its certificates of deposit offerings.
