This paper presents a new method for the design of maximally decimated perfct reconstruction Mbank FIR filters with symmetrical response around -where M is even. The method is based on the construction of a new unitary transformation matrix from which the different filter banks are derived Unlike the commonly used unitary matrices where every matrix section is constructed using only two parameters, the proposed new transformation has the flexibility of assigning three parameters to every section. These parameters are optimally determined to minimize the magnitude deviation of each filter bank from its ideal response. As a result, betfer stopband attenuation is achieved for the same filter complexity. Illustrative examples are given to show that for the same $Iter complexities, the proposed method oflers signGCant improvement over already published results, as well as over realizations that relmce the painvise property. 7r 2 '