By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

There is no secret banking strategy responsible for M&T Bank's success during the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression.

It has been, instead, about the nuts and bolts of banking, the use of common sense and a commitment to traditional lending policies.

That's according to Robert Wilmers, the bank's 76-year-old longtime chairman and CEO and one of the most influential business leaders in Western New York.

"It's nothing we did in particular during the last two years, but it's something we've done over time," said Wilmers, pleasant and soft-spoken, from his office on the 19th floor of One M&T Plaza in Buffalo. "We have a conservative credit culture, and we know that the only good loan is the one that gets paid back."

It's hard to ignore the performance of M&T Bank Corp. in an industry in which more than 150 banks failed in 2010 and many of its banking peers suffered massive quarterly losses. M&T is one of the 20 largest independent U.S. bank holding companies, with $68.2 billion in assets

Despite drops in net income earnings and some trouble with commercial loans, M&T avoided quarterly losses throughout the crisis and hasn't cut its quarterly cash dividends paid to shareholders. Its share price, which stumbled in late 2008 and ‘09, rose in 2010. And the acquisitions, which total 21 since Wilmers became chairman in 1983, keep coming.

Analysts say the 22nd acquisition, still pending regulatory and shareholder approval, is a bargain for the bank. It plans to acquire Wilmington Trust Corp. in Delaware for $351 million in stock and in return get $10.4 billion in assets.

The deal would make M&T the largest bank in a state where it currently operates one branch. The pending transaction also opens up new business lines in wealth advisory and corporate services and further establishes M&T in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The area has been the bank's growth zone since 2002 when it bought Allfirst Bank in Baltimore.

It has entrenched itself in Maryland and branched out to the Washington, D.C., and Virginia markets.

Despite the growth, Wilmers denies the idea of an expansion strategy.

"There is no strategy in our acquisitions," he said. "If opportunities come along that make good sense for the shareholders and the employees, we'll do it. Otherwise, we won't."

In fact, the bank this summer stepped away from merger discussions with a large banking franchise because, as Wilmers told employees in a memo, the bank "determined that we just couldn't make it work in a way that remained true to our long-held principles or in a way that we were certain would advance the long-term interests of our shareholders, our customers, our communities and our employees."

M&T has never publicly stated the name of the other bank, but there was wide speculation that it was Spanish financial giant Banco Santander SA, parent of U.S.-based Sovereign Bank. The firm was reportedly interested in the 22.49 percent stake in M&T that Allied Irish Banks plc put up for sale this year.

AIB wound up selling the shares to a group of institutional investors. Its agreement with M&T prevented any potential sale to a single investor, which could have put M&T in hostile hands.

"That's a lot of stock to share with one person or entity where we could constantly be at war," Wilmers said. "We're bankers, not warriors."

Now, M&T is working to finalize its deal to acquire Wilmington Trust's 48 branches and 225 ATMs. The transaction, expected to close "sometime in the spring" of 2011, may bring 100 or so jobs to the Buffalo area, Wilmers said. He isn't sure what types of positions would be created, but historically out-of-town acquisitions mean more back-office jobs here.

Part of the deal involves taking on the $330 million in federal government funding that Wilmington Trust accepted during the financial crisis.

That will get tacked on to M&T's own $600 million in government funding, plus additional amounts acquired in previous transactions. Wilmers said the bank won't pay the money back until the government sets forth certain rules about capital levels.

"There's no point in repaying it until the rules come out," he said. "In the meantime, like many institutions, we've been building up our common equity. It's up about 1 percent since the beginning of the year."

For Wilmers, M&T remains a community bank, despite its size. He explains it in terms of being part of the communities in which it exists.

"We want to serve every part of the community," he said. "We want to be bankers for the businesses in town, for the industries in town, for any nonprofits in town, from Little League to a church or a synagogue. And we want our employees to be involved in the community, as well. This helps us know customers better and it makes it a lot easier to understand the guality of that person's business. The more you know, the better off you are."