The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), assisted the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York, in the civil investigation of Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, also known as M&T Bank.  M&T Bank has its principal place of business in Buffalo, NY.   On March 19, 2013, a former employee of M&T Bank filed a civil complaint, alleging improprieties in M&T Bank’s loan origination and underwriting practices in violation of the False Claims Act.  Based on further investigation, the Government discovered that M&T Bank submitted false certifications to HUD concerning compliance with program rules and certain endorsed loans between January 2006 and December 31, 2011, in violation of these rules.

On May 9, 2016, M&T Bank entered into a settlement agreement with the Government to pay $64 million to avoid the delay, uncertainty, inconvenience, and expense of a lengthy litigation. As part of the settlement, M&T Bank agreed that it engaged in certain conduct in connection with its origination, underwriting, property appraisal, and quality control of certain single-family residential mortgage loans insured by FHA.  The settlement was neither an admission of liability by M&T Bank nor a concession by the United States that its claims were not well founded.