Access to Capital with M&T Bank: Financing Business Growth

Capital is always at the center of every business’ growth and scaling. Most startups with a good team will fail due to a lack of access to capital and investors’ funding. There are a lot of requirements put in place before financial institutions lend money, coupled with a lack of enough information on where the money is, which makes the situation even dire. 

Today’s webinar session hosted by the Virginia MBDA Business Center features the M&T Bank as they demystify access to capital with M&T Bank to finance your business growth. This webinar is targeted towards our minority small business community. Joining Tommy Marks, the webinar Moderator, are Ana Gonzalez and Gary Roznovsky. The panelists give an overview of expectations for a small business banking relationship and a few financing options M&T provides. Ana Gonzalez is M&T Bank’s vice president, senior relationship manager, and business banking officer. Gary Roznovsky is vice president, relationship manager, and business banking officer.

You can also download the handouts from the presentation here: https://bit.ly/40dt2iz.

Tune in!

Here’s What You’ll Get In This Episode

[00:01] Episode intro and what’s in for you with panelists from the M&T Bank

[08:11] A brief introduction of Ana Gonzalez and Gary Roznovsky 

[11:18] The history of M&T Bank and their mission 

[12:30] What you should expect from a bank/banker

[14:44] What your business needs for its success

[16:50] M&T Bank’s credit culture- Seven C’s of credit

[21:12] How the bank does its due diligence to know your business’s ability to repay

[24:52] M&T Bank’s real estate and non-real estate loan structure guidelines

[31:01] SBA loan benefits

[34:33] Sample questions the M&T bank might ask a small business prospect

[36:43] Answering questions from the audience

[47:34] M&T Bank’s focus on lending to minority and disadvantaged-owned businesses

[50:43] How the bank evaluates newly awarded contracts before lending to a small business

[54:27] Are there credit card options for MBEs that are not loan-ready

Notable Quotes

• There are many things to expect from a bank/ banker, but a business owner needs to focus on the personal relationship with the bank to be successful in the financing.-Ana Gonzalez [12:45].
• M&T Bank is always active and proactively looking to lend money to minority-owned businesses because that is who they are. M&T is a bank that focuses on minorities. The bank’s CEO is a minority.- Ana Gonzalez [48:22].
• Winning a contract is one thing. Executing it is another, and part of the execution is being able to finance that contract.- Tommy Marks [50:24].

Connect with M&T

Ana Gonzalez- Vice President at M&T Bank

Email: agonzalez4@mtb.com

Gary Roznovsky-Vice President at M&T Bank

Email: groznovsky@mtb.com