UPDATE 1-M&T Q4 profit up 34 percent
* Q4 net income $137 million
* Q4 EPS $1.04 vs Street view 87 cents
NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. mid-Atlantic regional bank M&T Bank Corp (MTB.N) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, as net charge-offs for loans decreased and it trimmed its provision for credit losses.
The company, which counts Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKb.N) (BRKa.N) among its investors and operates about 800 branches, posted fourth-quarter net income of $137 million, or $1.04 per share, compared with a profit of $102.2 million, or 92 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts, on average, had expected M&T to post a profit of 87 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
U.S. regional banks have seen their interest margins squeezed as they compete for deposits and face credit losses due to loans gone bad due to the financial crisis. (Reporting by Clare Baldwin, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
