M&T Bank’s Daryl Bible (Getty, Linkedin)

Through 2024 and predictions that commercial real estate would tank regional lenders, M&T Bank kept its head down, steadily chipping away at its at-risk debt.

Two weeks into January, the Buffalo-based bank peeled its nose off the grindstone to report solid headway and expectations it could soon start lending again.

“We expect the [CRE] balances to grow modestly through the second half of the year as we build the pipeline and begin to offset payoffs and paydowns with new originations,” Chief Financial Officer Daryl Bible said on a Thursday morning earnings call.