Community Bank plots grow as region’s economy picks up

DeWITT — As development and economic activity bustle along the state’s Thruway corridor, Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) has its own plans to beef up its presence in those markets, starting with three new Community Bank, N.A. branches in Onondaga County. “It’s part of our strategic plan,” President/CEO Dimitar Karaivanov tells CNYBJ in an interview. The banking company is always looking at both the future and opportunity, he notes. Growth is important and not just for Community Bank, but also for the communities it serves and its employees, he adds. “The markets are finally growing in upstate New York,” he says, and that creates opportunity for Community Bank to expand and serve more people. It provides a more personal relationship for customers as compared to national banks, and can provide more services than smaller banks, he contends. Currently, Community Bank has branches in DeWitt, where it is headquartered, along with Cicero and Skaneateles. It’s adding branches in downtown Syracuse — in the State Tower building on Sout Warren Street — as well as two other branches in the greater Syracuse area. While he couldn’t disclose more information just yet, Karaivanov notes the branches are in areas Community Bank felt it wasn’t adequately serving yet in order to expand access. Each of the new branches will be staffed by four to five employees, he says. And Syracuse isn’t the only area getting new locations. Community Bank also plans to grow its branch presence in Buffalo, Rochester, the Capital District, the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, and the Springfield, Massachusetts region. It will also open its first physical branch in New Hampshire within the next year or so, Karaivanov says. Community Bank currently has branches in Vermont and has gained some New Hampshire–based customers through those locations. Now, they will have a closer location to serve them. The bank has experienced above market-rate growth over the past three years, Karaivanov says. “Now, we’ve just got to make some real investment in those markets on the heels of that success.” While companies like Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU), which just landed billions in federal funding for the chip plant it plans to build in Clay along with another in Idaho, are getting big headlines. But it’s really the whole corridor from Buffalo to Albany, and especially in the Syracuse area, that has Community Bank excited, Karaivanov says. The economic pipeline for Central New York is about 20 times bigger than it was in 2019, he says, especially in the areas of advanced manufacturing as companies re-shore manufacturing from overseas. “There’s just a lot happening here,” Karaivanov says, and Community Bank wants to be part of it. The banking company has two buckets it has to keep track of, he says. One is opportunity, and the other is responsibility. As it acts on opportunity, it has to keep responsibility in mind, he says. “What are you doing to make this success inclusive for all of the community?” he asks. Community Bank will do that through specialized products that will help those most in need, such as its special purpose credit homeownership program that removes barriers to homeownership like closing costs and downpayments by providing up to 100 percent financing. “It really is the cornerstone of our communities,” Karaivanov says of homeownership, which typically leads to people being more invested and therefore investing more in their neighborhoods. Community Bank System operates more than 200 Community Bank N.A. branch locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts. The banking company has more than $15 billion in assets and employes nearly 2,900 people across all its locations and business lines, which includes benefits administration through its Benefit Plans Administrative Services, Inc. subsidiary; insurance services through the OneGroup NY, Inc. subsidiary; and wealth management through its Community Bank Wealth Management operating unit.