The Commercial Record file photo
M&T Bank announced it will open a new bank branch in Bridgeport’s East End neighborhood, which is expected to be operational by early 2024 pending regulatory approval.
The 1,500-square-foot branch will be located on Stratford Avenue between Newfield Avenue and Central Avenue within Honey Locust Square, a new retail development led by Anthony Stewart of Bridgeport’s Ashlar Construction LLC. The branch will include an ATM and a space for teller transactions and meetings with M&T bankers.
The Buffalo, New York-based bank said it decided to put up a branch there after listening to Bridgeport leaders on the city’s banking needs particularly from the East End and East Side residents. Bridgeport is home to M&T’s New England regional headquarters but is also Connecticut’s second-poorest city by per capita income and the fifth-poorest by median family income.
The branch will be a type of branch M&T calls a “multicultural banking center” with bankers with cultural and linguistic skills to cater to their host community. It will also hold networking events and financial literacy classes for its members and collaborate on community projects. M&T said it has over 100 multicultural banking centers across the Northeast.
“At M&T Bank, we believe that prosperous communities are the foundation of successful businesses – when our communities ask for something, we listen,” Frank Micalizzi, Bridgeport regional president of M&T Bank, said in a statement. “This new branch is just one more component of our ongoing commitment to the City of Bridgeport. We deeply appreciate the partnerships we have built with local leaders in the city, and we are excited to open this new branch and offer greater banking access and opportunity to all Bridgeport residents.”
“Today is an exciting day for the East End of Bridgeport. I applaud M&T bank for listening to the residents and small businesses on the dire need for a bank in the East End and delivering for the community. Their commitment to empowering our community with convenient and reliable banking options will undoubtedly enhance the economic opportunities and financial well-being of our residents, fostering a stronger, more inclusive future for all,” Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim said in a statement provided by the bank.
M&T also opened two branches in Waterford and Newington in March.
