M&T Bank x CSVC Case Competition Sees Graduate Students Promote Financial Inclusion Solutions

How can local banks increase their role in community development, broaden financial inclusion and empower individuals to utilize banking resources? Just ask graduate students at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

On April 12, eight teams comprised of students from the Smith School’s business master's and MBA programs presented their solutions toward addressing those grand challenges during the M&T Bank x CSVC Case Competition (Center for Social Value Creation).

David Perez, MBA ’25, Tanvi Murumkar, MS in Business Analytics ’24, Andrew Trepicchio, MBA ’25, and Stephen Alexander, MBA ’24, earned first-place honors at the social impact case competition, which tasked teams with assessing the U.S. financial landscape and exploring various methods enabling M&T Bank to enhance banking engagement among members of low and middle-income households.

Harshil Patel, MS in Information Systems ’24, was a member of the second-place team that presented an approach leveraging AI-powered tools to refine risk assessments, meet Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements, provide alternative data for credit evaluations and take advantage of M&T Bank’s partnerships with governmental bodies, non-profits, CDFIs, and NGOs.

To Patel, the experience was “enriching” as it satisfied his avid interest in participating in case competitions. It was especially fulfilling for him due to the opportunity to work and interact with M&T Bank senior managers and executives.

“Networking with them provided invaluable insights and connections, further fueling our passion for innovation in banking. I’m excited to continue championing innovation and social impact in the banking sector,” said Patel.

This year’s competition was organized by CSVC’s Keola Evans and held in partnership with M&T Bank. Nicole Coomber, assistant dean of experiential learning and clinical professor of management and organization, and lecturer Roy Thomason represented the Smith School faculty on the judges' panel. They were joined by M&T Bank’s Syreeta Smith, assistant vice president and branch manager; Aursland D. Seymour, assistant vice president and branch manager; Keron Samaroo, senior relationship banker; Lynnett Berger, vice president, CIMA, PMP; and Derek Tokaz.