First Niagara to pay former CEO Koelmel a severance of at least $3 million

First Niagara Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: FNFG) will pay former president and CEO John Koelmel a severance package of at least $3 million.

The figure is part of a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) dated Aug. 9.

The severance of nearly $2.9 million includes about $500,000 that First Niagara will pay by the end of the September, which represents a six-month time period following Koelmel’s departure, according to the filing.

First Niagara will pay the remainder of the severance over a two-year period that begins once the initial six-month period expires.

The bank will also pay Koelmel a bonus of more than $200,000 for the time he worked at First Niagara in 2013 prior to his departure, the filing indicates.

Buffalo–based First Niagara announced Koelmel’s departure on March 19.

A news release from First Niagara described Koelmel’s departure as “mutually agreed upon.” A filing from First Niagara with the SEC said Koelmel was being terminated for reasons other than for cause.

As a well-known business executive in the Buffalo area, it didn’t take long for Koelmel to find work.

The Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 6 announced the hiring of Koelmel as president of HARBORcenter, the mixed-use hockey and entertainment facility currently under construction near First Niagara Center, the Sabres home arena, in Buffalo.

First Niagara is a multi-state regional bank with about 420 branches, approximately $37 billion in assets, $27 billion in deposits, and about 6,000 employees across upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

First Niagara ranks number four in the Syracuse metro area deposit market with 21 branches, more than $808 million in deposits, and a deposit market share of more than 7.5 percent, according to June 30, 2012 statistics from the FDIC, the latest available.

The bank is also number four in the Utica–Rome market with nine branches, $406 million in deposits, and a market share of about 11 percent.

The bank is number two in the Binghamton market with 10 branches, $342.5 million in deposits, and a market share of 12.8 percent.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com