M&T to buy Hudson City for $3.7 billion

M&T Bank Corp. said Monday it had agreed to buy Hudson City Bancorp, based in Paramus, N.J., for $3.7 billion. Hudson City's operation includes 135 branch offices -- 97 in New Jersey, 29 in New York State and nine in Connecticut. The deal will create a company with 870 branches stretching from Connecticut to Virginia. M&T also expects to gain $25 billion in deposits and $28 billion in assets. "To the customers and communities now served by Hudson City, M&T brings a wider array of banking products and services," said M&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Wilmers. M&T has been in business 156 years and Hudson City 144 years, Wilmers said. "And we look forward to building on that long history and tradition together in the future," he said.