M&T Bank Corp. today announced that it is entering the Canadian commercial banking market, and will open an office in Ontario to serve Canadian businesses.

Pending final regulatory approval, Buffalo, N.Y.-based M&T will open a commercial office in the Toronto area by the end of the year, it said. The operation will be M&T’s first commercial office outside the United States.

“Canada is a good location to expand our commercial business, because we’ve been headquartered on the border for more than 150 years and we understand the bi-national economy. This office will allow us to provide banking services to the Canadian offices of our U.S. customers. We’ll also seek the business of Canadian companies that are expanding into the U.S.,” says M&T Bank president Mark Czarnecki.

The firm has hired John MacLeod as the principal officer for its Canadian commercial office. “M&T will have the ability to provide full-service banking to its commercial clients. The bank’s position, with offices on both sides of the border, allows us to provide seamless delivery of financial services to customers in Canada and the U.S.,” MacLeod says.