How this Buffalo-based bank is using tech as a competitive edge

In 2018, Michael Wisler became chief information officer at M&T Bank, a now-170-year-old financial institution based in Buffalo, after spending years in technology leadership roles at Capital One. Wisler soon worked to invest in M&T’s in-house information technology capabilities and talent, reducing the bank’s reliance on outside tech contractors, speeding the rate at which the bank can respond to changes in technology and customer needs, and building more resilient systems. It was part of a transformation to treat technology, and the experts who work with it, as a true competitive advantage of the bank. That required investing in ways to attract skilled employees, including a technology development program that helps recruit new college graduates. Connections with universities in the region and across the country help woo students looking to start their careers, and nontraditional pathways attract additional talent that might otherwise be overlooked. Today, more than 80% of M&T’s tech and data teams work directly for the bank, including at two technology centers that M&T has built in downtown Buffalo. “We’ve done some tremendous things,” Wisler says. “We’re way more productive. W…