First Niagara adds indirect auto lending to portfolio

First Niagara Financial Group (NASDAQ: FNFG) is jumping into the indirect auto lending business.

The Buffalo–based banking company said today it will provide a variety of financing options through dealerships across the Northeast. The new program is immediately available in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Delaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. The company expects to extend indirect lending to Pennsylvania during the second quarter of 2012.

More than 400 new car dealers have already agreed to participate and the company expects that number to grow to 1,500 dealers by 2014.

First Niagara has two credit underwriting sites in Buffalo and Albany. The new business created 16 new jobs in Western New York, five in Albany, and one in New England.

The company expects to add more than 50 new jobs as a result of the lending business within three years.

“This is a considerable growth opportunity, complementing our extended market presence across the Northeastern U.S.,” Andrew Fornarola, First Niagara senior vice president, said in a news release. “Our sales team is comprised of seasoned in-market professionals with strong, existing relationships in the dealer financing business. Combining them with our team of highly trained and experienced underwriters, we’ll differentiate ourselves through the exceptional service that First Niagara customers have come to expect.”

First Niagara also recently announced a new push on small business lending and added 40 new small business bankers to its workforce.

The company is planning to close an acquisition of 195 HSBC Bank branches in May. Adding the locations in upstate New York, Westchester County, and Connecticut will make First Niagara a major force in the Syracuse, Utica, and Binghamton markets.

When the HSBC acquisition is completed, First Niagara will have nearly 430 branches, $30 billion in deposits, $38 billion in assets, and more than 6,000 employees in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

The deal will virtually double First Niagara’s New York branch network to more than 200 locations and add more than 1,200 employees to its work force.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com