Community Bank wraps acquisition of First Niagara locations

DeWITT — Community Bank of DeWitt completed an acquisition of three First Niagara Bank branches in Canandaigua and Geneva.

The deal brings $100 million in deposits and $55 million in loans. Following the closing, the First Niagara branch at 470 Exchange St. in Geneva combined with the Community branch at 5 Seneca St., according to Community.

The acquisition also brought 20 new employees and 7,000 new customers to Community.

“We have worked very hard to make the transition as simple as possible for customers and we appreciate the dedication of both our Community Bank associates and the First Niagara team,” Community Bank President and CEO Mark Tryniski said in a news release.

Earlier this year, Community acquired 16 HSBC branches in Adams, Alexandria Bay, Avon, Fulton, Geneseo, Gowanda, Lowville, Newark, Oswego, Palmyra, Plattsburgh, Springville, Watertown, Watkins Glen, and Westfield. The branches brought Community Bank $697 million in deposits and $107 million in loans.

The locations were part of First Niagara’s acquisition of 195 HSBC locations in upstate New York, Westchester County, and Connecticut.

Buffalo–based First Niagara made deals with Community Bank, KeyBank, and Five Star Bank, based in Warsaw, to sell off some of the HSBC branches involved as well as some of its own offices. The bank made the divestitures to comply with anti-trust rules.

First Niagara leaders also said some of the branches were in markets, including the North Country, where they were not interested in competing.

Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) now has $7.5 billion in assets and 190 branches. The banking company also operates subsidiaries in employee benefits, insurance, investment management and advising, and wealth management.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com