KeyBank to close 18 CNY branches as part of First Niagara acquisition

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) on Monday announced plans to close 18 Central New York branches of First Niagara Bank and KeyBank as it integrates the banks’ respective branch networks in its pending acquisition of First Niagara.

The 18 branches include 11 First Niagara offices and seven KeyBank locations, KeyCorp said in a news release.

Key said it plans to offer “roles” in the company to “all branch employees.”

Key has also agreed to limit upstate New York layoffs elsewhere in the firm to no more than 250, according to an agreement the banking company reached with the office of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.).

Included in the branch closings is the First Niagara office at 126 N. Salina St. in Syracuse (near Clinton Square), which will combine with the KeyBank location at 201 S. Warren St. in Syracuse, a few blocks away.

In another local closure, the First Niagara branch in Windsor will consolidate with the First Niagara office in downtown Binghamton.

In Central New York, some of the branch combinations are scheduled for October, while others are planned for sometime in 2017.

Similar consolidations are planned in the Buffalo, Rochester, Capital Region, Hudson Valley markets in upstate New York and in the banks’ markets in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Altogether, Cleveland, Ohio–based KeyCorp will consolidate 70 First Niagara and 36 KeyBank branches into existing offices. In “most” cases, the receiving branch is located less than one mile away from the closing branch, KeyCorp said.

The new KeyBank branch network will include 488 branches in upstate New York and in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. It will be the “largest” bank-branch network in Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, and Albany, according to the Key release.

KeyBank will add a total of 304 First Niagara branches to its new network after KeyCorp completes its acquisition of First Niagara Financial Group (NASDAQ: FNFG) this year.

Key “remains on track” to close First Niagara acquisition in the third quarter, pending regulatory approval. The banking company plans to reach “pre-merger employment levels” by 2021, consistent with expectations for business growth and investment, KeyCorp said.

Beth Mooney, chairman and CEO of KeyCorp, also confirmed that Buffalo will serve as the company’s Northeast regional headquarters and that Key will “invest and grow” in New York.

That includes plans to expand its mortgage, auto lending, and insurance businesses.

KeyBank will add “at least” 500 to 600 new jobs in New York state over the next three years (2016-2018), and will likely add an additional 300 to 400 jobs over the following two years (2019-2020), according to a Schumer news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com