First Bronx M&T Bank branch slated to open

M&T Bank has clearly saved the best borough for last, as it has announced its first Bronx branch will open later this year.

The 1,500-square-foot branch at 2460 Grand Concourse is slated to open this spring.

Work has already started at the location, which is adjacent to an entrance to the MTA subway line.

Once completed, the Buffalo, NY-based bank will have branch coverage in all five boroughs.

“We’re thrilled to add a new development to the ongoing Bronx renaissance,” said New York City Community Reinvestment Administrative vice president Steven Flax.

Flax said conversations with borough residents led to bank officials to determine Grand Concourse was great place for its first borough branch.

“We look forward to the opportunity to serve even more Bronx residents and small businesses,” he added.

Construction work has already begun to convert a long-vacant storefront at this Grand Concourse location, between East 188th Street and East Fordham Road.

The bank will also be located just several blocks west of Fordham University’s main campus.

M&T Bank currently operates 17 branches in New York City’s boroughs, and ranks as the third-largest U.S. Small Business Administration lender out of the SBA’s New York City District, based on total number of SBA loans made last year.

Administrative vice president for Retail Banking in New York City and Long Island Rick Reustle said M&T was acommunity-focused bank that prided itself on building a relationship with customers and helping small businesses.

“As far as small business outreach, we’re one of the best banks you can deal with. Our branch managers are fully-equipped for business development and business networking outreach, so we have a lot of commercial business opportunities that we are really excited about,” Reustle said.

Catering to small businesses and helping them grow also helps the bank grow once those businesses prosper and expand, he explained.

“It seems like many of the biggest banks are not very small business-focused, and we think it is competitive edge and advantage for us,” he said.

The bank also offers competitive home equity and mortgage loan lending opportunities.

“We’re one of the last banks to offer home equity loans at no closing cost, which is excellent, because a lot of banks have now started to charge closing costs,” he said.

The bank is also one of the few to offer unsecured personal loans for up to 60 months for those who don’t own a home, and just launched an identity theft protection program for its customers.

While based upstate, M&T Bank is no stranger to the city: it has operated branches in parts of NYC for the past 25 years, originally through the acquisition of other banks chains.

There are six branches in Manhattan and five in Brooklyn and Queens and another in Staten Island.

The bank also operates in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Reach Reporter Arthur Cusano at (718) 742–4584. E-mail him at acusano@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @arthurcusano.