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

The chief executive of M&T Bank Corp. worries that looming debt and deficits at the national level may bankrupt the United States in coming years.

What's at stake: a loss of funds for federal programs, plus reductions in the amount of capital available for new business ventures, M&T Bank Chairman and CEO Robert Wilmers told shareholders Tuesday.

"Our fiscal problems reflect not only the fact that we are spending so much, but that our engine of growth and prosperity - the ultimate source of the money on which government relies - has stalled," he said. "Our level of private-sector employment still has not returned to what it was at its peak in 2001. Unemployment and underemployment combined stand at 15.7 percent. And tax revenue ... is at the lowest level since 1950. These bleak figures reflect the fact that too much of our public spending leads to poor results."

His comments were part of the banking company's annual shareholders meeting at One M&T Plaza in downtown Buffalo. The day before, the bank reported first-quarter earnings of $206.3 million, up 36.4 percent from $150.9 million in net income earnings reported during the same quarter in 2010.

Wilmers compared the United States to three countries - Ireland, Portugal and Greece - significantly struggling to stay afloat. He said he is deeply concerned that the United States is following "the same, calamitous path" due in part to its health-care system, its Social Security structure, its defense budget and its rising interest payments on federal debt.

He said not enough resources are being spent on public education and research, two areas in which investment would "put (the country) back on a path toward a healthy economy" and stabilize its fiscal situation.

His comments were followed by the election of 16 M&T Bank directors and approval of 2011 compensation packages for top executives.

Wilmers, who earned $2.55 million in 2010, is eligible to receive $2.4 million in total compensation for 2011.

M&T Bank is awaiting approval from banking regulators to move forward with its proposed $351 million takeover of Wilmington Trust Corp. in Delaware. If the acquisition is approved, it will position M&T as the largest bank in the state. Shareholders of Wilmington Trust have already voted to approve and adopt the acquisition.