M&T Bank Corporation reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025 on a recent earnings call. Senior Executive Vice President and CFO Daryl Bible presented the figures and discussed the bank's performance and future plans.
For the full year 2025, the bank achieved record net income of $2.85 billion and record earnings per share of $17. Fee income grew 13% to a record $2.7 billion. The bank increased its quarterly dividend by 11%, repurchased about 9% of outstanding shares, and grew tangible book value per share by 7%.
Asset quality showed improvement. Non-accrual loans decreased 26% year-over-year, bringing the non-accrual ratio to 90 basis points, which the bank stated was its lowest level since 2007. Criticized commercial loans declined 27%.
For the fourth quarter, diluted GAAP earnings per share were $4.67, down from $4.82 in the prior quarter. Net income was $759 million compared to $792 million in the linked quarter. Management noted two significant expense items: a $29 million reduction in FDIC expense, which added $0.14 to EPS, and a $30 million charitable contribution, which reduced EPS by $0.15.
Taxable-equivalent net interest income for the quarter was $1.79 billion, up 1% from the prior quarter. The net interest margin was 3.69%, up one basis point. Average loans and leases rose $1.1 billion to $137.6 billion, with growth in commercial, residential mortgage, and consumer loan categories.
Average total deposits increased $2.4 billion to $165.1 billion. Net charge-offs in the quarter were $185 million, or 54 basis points, up from 42 basis points in the prior quarter. Management attributed the increase to the resolution of several large credits.
Looking ahead to 2026, management provided financial guidance. The bank expects taxable-equivalent net interest income in the range of $7.2 billion to $7.35 billion, with a net interest margin in the low 3.70s. Full-year average loans are projected to be $140 billion to $142 billion, and average deposits are expected to be $165 billion to $167 billion.
Non-interest income is forecasted to be $2.675 billion to $2.775 billion. Total non-interest expense is expected to be $5.5 billion to $5.6 billion. The bank anticipates full-year charge-offs to be near 40 basis points and plans to operate with a CET1 capital ratio in the range of 10.25% to 10.5%.
Management also disclosed an accounting change related to mortgage servicing rights. The bank elected to carry certain MSRs at fair value, a move that added approximately $197 million in regulatory capital, benefiting the CET1 ratio by about eight basis points.
During the call, Bible reiterated the bank's capital deployment strategy, which supports lending, maintains dividend growth, pursues opportunistic inorganic growth, and returns excess capital through share repurchases.