How Data And AI Are Driving Business Transformation At M&T Bank

M&T Bank How can data and AI be applied to drive business transformation in banking? As companies across industries explore how to apply data and AI to innovate and transform their operations for an AI future, M&T Bank, a major regional bank based in Buffalo, New York, has been investing in data and AI to optimize banking operations and enhance the banking experience for its customers. Founded as Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company in Buffalo in 1856, M&T has grown to become a leading national bank, operating 950+ branches in 12 states and Washington D.C. across the Eastern United States, from Maine to Virginia. I recently spoke with Andrew Foster, who serves as Chief Data Officer (CDO) for M&T. Andrew assumed the CDO role at M&T in March of 2023 after previously holding data leadership and roles at Deutsche Bank for more than a decade. Foster explains his role and mandate, commenting, “I came into the CDO role at M&T in March 2023 and my first action was to develop a multi-year data strategy that was accepted by the executive leadership of the bank in October 2023. This resulted in the investment that was needed to focus on execution and delivery on our data strategy.” Foster elaborates on his role, “AI is part of my mandate as Chief Data Officer at M&T. I report to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the organization.” Recognizing the necessity of delivering business value in the CDO role, Foster explains, “My connectivity with the enterprise business leaders is essential and it’s because they welcome and understand the opportunities that data provides them.” Foster continues, “I’m meeting up with every executive leadership team member on a one-to-one basis once each quarter and taking them through their data health check.” Delivering Business Value from Data and AI Investment Foster notes that his data strategy mandate includes responsibility for AI, commenting, “Our mandate is to define, fund, and execute a data and AI strategy that encompasses people, process, and technology.” He continues, “M&T measures the value of its investment in data, analytics, and AI through a value capture framework. This has been defined and implemented through a methodology that drives a common understanding of the business value that is unlocked through data and AI execution. The primary function of data, analytics, and AI at M&T is for the enablement of good decisions.” To achieve its business objectives, M&T is undertaking a series of data & AI focused initiatives, including: Implementing a business facing Community of Enablement Model (CEM) with joint partnership between business, technology, and data teams. Establishing a Data Academy which trained over 1,000 employees on data utilization, data literacy, and analytic tool upskilling during 2024. Implementing a weekly “Letter from the CDO” which reaches approximately 1,500 subscribers and continues to inform the data and AI journey and contribute to building a data and AI culture. Implementing The EDM Council Data Capability and Assessment Model (DCAM) across a federated data organization to help establish a baseline of understanding and expectations in key leaders and staff. I asked Foster about the current state of data and AI at M&T. He explained, “Sometimes data is required instantly, and quality is less important than timeliness. At other times, accuracy is more important and timeliness less so.” Foster explains “Understanding the context in which data is being used drives the supporting activity, but the objective remains the same – delivering timely data of appropriate quality into the hands of business leaders.” He adds, “A successful outcome remains grounded in being able to make decisions with confidence.” Developing an Infrastructure for Data and AI Adoption M&T plans to expand the use of data, analytics, and AI through a strategy of continued growth in cloud-based data products, along with a concurrent reduction in legacy platform retirement. Foster describes these efforts as part of a “relentless focus on delivering actionable, accurate data into the hands of business users”. He explains, “We have developed a Federated data governance model. We can then strip 200 hours of work out of the business, which is then capacity returned back into that business function. By simply adding a couple of additional data elements and retaining that same governance structure, we are now able to have the commercial and consumer banks using the same data set as well.” Foster notes, “We’ve made a lot of progress, including development of a federated data governance model that we think can genuinely change how the bank operates”. He explains that the federated data governance approach “reduces reconciliation and reduces complexity”. He continues, “Our mission is delivering business efficiencies, as well as identifying ways in which data and analytics can be used in a way that benefits the end customer.” As an example, Foster explains, “The average ticket time for resolving a request for business analytics support has dropped on average by 50 days per month”. He continues, “We may be looking to optimize a branch location or marketing campaign. The more we standardize the data, the more we can make it accessible, and the faster we can perform analytics, which means the faster we can get from analysis to a business decision”. While data quality remains a challenge for most organizations, Foster highlights the importance of focusing on how the data will be utilized. He explains, “I think any form of utilization of data is not about perfect data quality, it’s about data of a known quality. What I mean is that you always have this balance between the quality of the information and the timeliness of the information”. Foster notes whether data quality or data timeliness takes priority will depend upon the application which you are using the data for. He adds, “For the CFO, data accuracy is paramount”. Delivering on the Data and AI Transformation Journey Foster recognizes that transformation represents a business journey. Reflecting on his own journey in the CDO role, Foster notes, “It always depends on what you mean by innovation and transformation. A lot of the historic work in the CDO function was driven by regulatory reporting.” He continues, “Today, we are doing things like building a geolocation data product. We are part of a 2,000-person technology organization that is invested in the business success of our data and AI transformation efforts”, adding that, “It’s about putting good tools in the hands of people who need to make decisions for the bank.” Looking ahead, Foster notes, “M&T leadership has embraced our work and been trusted partners to provide support and time. We have created Data Product pilots targeted at specific business units, enabling business leaders to see the value of a governed and data trust-based delivery.” He adds, “Examples of successes include legacy analytics tool decommissioning; third party data product adoption. In the end, Foster recognizes that data transformation efforts are likely to be greeted with skepticism. He explains, “I was at an offsite with bank executives, and asked, ‘Put your hand up if you’ve seen a failed data program at this bank. These are deeply tenured people. Then I said, keep your hand up if you’ve seen two. And when I got to about four, most of the hands are still up.” He concludes, “I told them that I was looking for people to partner with me on a journey. I said it’s going to be difficult. We’re going to have re-work. There’s going to be frustration, but you get to be first and then you get the strength of the organization behind you. And, then you create belief.” Foster sums up, “You deliver, you execute, and then people see that transformation is possible.” Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/randybean/2025/05/09/how-data-and-ai-are-driving-business-transformation-at-mt-bank/