Know Your Customer ("KYC") policies and programs have become increasingly important in the U.S. and around the world to help in the ongoing battle against money laundering and financial crime.

High-profile instances of entities formed for the sole purpose of facilitating financial crimes around the world have magnified the need for banks to better understand the entities in which they do business. Knowing our customers helps prevent money laundering and terrorist financing using the U.S. Financial system.

The Federal Government has made it a priority for banks to have increased knowledge of their customers. A recently enacted federal regulation passed by the Department of the Treasury mandates all U.S. Financial Institutions collect detailed data from beneficial owners – individuals with control over an entity’s financial dealings and ownership interests in the entity.

This information must be collected by M&T prior to opening any type of account or closing a loan for the entity. This means we may ask you to provide information about the individuals who own or control an entity, including:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Social Security Number
• Address
• Citizenship
• A form of identification
• A  signed form certifying the accuracy of the information
• A completed Controlling Parties of Legal Entity Customers form (PDF)​

Additionally, we may periodically request updated information.

Our ability to serve you depends on your willingness to provide the required information. It is important to us that you understand why we are requesting this information and hope you will be comfortable providing it as part of these regulatory requirements.

• Knowing our customers has always been a top priority for us – it's integral to the way we do business
• We strive to get to know our customers and their banking practices and habits
• We need different types of information to help validate account holder information and understand how the account will be used
• Completing periodic reviews of our customers is important to protecting and serving the needs of all our customers

• Money laundering and financial crime remain serious threats to individuals, businesses and our economy
• The government has asked banks to play a more significant role in the battle against money laundering and we are proudly doing our part
• ​Maintaining current information on our customers is part of this process and complements the emphasis we put on understanding our customers and what's important to them
• The more we know about our customers, the better we can do our job of serving our customers