Elmira Savings Bank’s expansion into Broome County was “next logical step,” Carr says

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VESTAL — Elmira Savings Bank (NASDAQ: ESBK) recently established a physical presence in Broome County by opening an office in Vestal that focuses on making residential mortgage loans. The limited-service, loan-production office, located at 3439 Vestal Parkway E. in Vestal, opened on Sept. 3. “We just looked at that Binghamton market as the next logical […]

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VESTAL — Elmira Savings Bank (NASDAQ: ESBK) recently established a physical presence in Broome County by opening an office in Vestal that focuses on making residential mortgage loans.

The limited-service, loan-production office, located at 3439 Vestal Parkway E. in Vestal, opened on Sept. 3.

“We just looked at that Binghamton market as the next logical step for us to do residential lending,” Thomas M. Carr, president and chief operating officer of Elmira Savings Bank, says. He notes that Broome County was the natural next step after the bank opened a loan office in Cortland two years ago and a full-service branch in Erwin (west of Corning) early this year.

Elmira Savings Bank, originally founded in 1869, never had a branch in Broome County before, Carr says, though it has occasionally made loans to Broome County residents through its other offices.

The new, 1,600-square-foot Vestal office employs three full-time mortgage-loan professionals, Carr says. The office is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by appointment.

The bank leases the space from Kradjian Properties, a Binghamton–based real-estate development and management business, Carr says. Kradjian’s real-estate portfolio includes several properties along Vestal Parkway.

Elmira Savings Bank’s research indicates that Broome County is about a $250 million residential mortgage-loan market, and the bank hopes to capture six to 10 percent of that, Carr says.

The new Vestal office is not targeting Tioga County customers but Carr believes that the location, not far from the Tioga County line, does open the door for business from that county as well.

Elmira Savings Bank originated $150 million in mortgage loans last year and is on that same pace this year, Carr says. About 70 percent of its mortgage business is new loans, while 30 percent involves refinancing existing mortgage loans. “Our mortgage business is very strong,” he adds.

Carr says it’s too early to say if Elmira Savings Bank will open a full-service branch in Broome County, but says that if the loan office is a success that increases the likelihood.

Elmira Savings Bank, with $520 million in total assets, is a state-chartered bank with six branches in Chemung County, three branches and a loan center in Tompkins County, two offices in Steuben County, one branch in Cayuga County, one office in Schuyler County, and loan centers in Cortland and Broome counties.

The banking company’s main headquarters office is located at 333 E. Water St. in Elmira.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com

Chemung Canal Trust names Krebs new CFO

Banks & Credit Unions, Regional News, Subscriber Only

ELMIRA — Chemung Canal Trust Co. announced Oct. 17 that Karl F. Krebs has joined the bank’s management team as chief financial officer and treasurer. He was also appointed CFO and treasurer of parent company Chemung Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CHMG). Krebs, who has more than 30 years of banking experience, began his career in 1982

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ELMIRA — Chemung Canal Trust Co. announced Oct. 17 that Karl F. Krebs has joined the bank’s management team as chief financial officer and treasurer.

He was also appointed CFO and treasurer of parent company Chemung Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CHMG).

Krebs, who has more than 30 years of banking experience, began his career in 1982 and most recently served as CFO of Financial Institutions Inc. and subsidiary Five Star Bank, in Warsaw, N.Y.

Krebs replaces John R. Battersby, Jr., who had come out of retirement in mid-September to serve as Chemung’s interim CFO and treasurer, after Mark A. Severson left to take the CFO job at Cordia Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: BVA), parent of Bank of Virginia.

Krebs earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Canisius College and an MBA, with a concentration in finance and accounting, from SUNY Buffalo.

Krebs’ annual base salary will be $200,000, the bank said in a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission regulatory filing.

During his banking career, he has held management positions at Goldome Bank, Key Corp, National City, and HSBC, before joining Financial Institutions and Five Star Bank.

Elmira–based Chemung Canal Trust currently operates 23 full-service banking offices in Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins counties in New York and Bradford County in Pennsylvania. It also operates five full-service banking offices under the name Capital Bank in Albany and Saratoga counties.

On Nov. 22, Chemung Canal Trust is expected to complete the acquisition of six Bank of America branches in Central New York, expanding its presence in Tompkins County, while entering new markets in Cayuga, Cortland, and Seneca counties.

Started in 1833, Chemung Canal Trust is the oldest locally owned and managed community bank in New York state. Chemung Financial is also the parent of CFS Group, Inc., a financial-services subsidiary offering mutual funds, annuities, brokerage services, tax-preparation services, and insurance.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com

Solvay Bank announces new branch, unveils renovated downtown office

Banks & Credit Unions, Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

SOLVAY — Solvay Bank recently unveiled renovations that turned its downtown Syracuse location into a “smart branch” and will soon break ground on new branch location in DeWitt. “A few years ago, we developed a concept called a smart branch,” says Paul Mello, president and CEO of Solvay Bank. A smart branch is one that

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SOLVAY — Solvay Bank recently unveiled renovations that turned its downtown Syracuse location into a “smart branch” and will soon break ground on new branch location in DeWitt.

“A few years ago, we developed a concept called a smart branch,” says Paul Mello, president and CEO of Solvay Bank. A smart branch is one that uses technology to help make the branch more efficient. The bank just completed work to convert its Syracuse branch in the State Tower Building at 109 Warren St. into such a location.

The biggest change that comes with the smart concept is training and enabling employees to perform a variety of job functions, Mello says. Typically, bank branches have very segmented jobs, he says. Tellers handle deposits and withdrawals. Loan officers handle loan applications. While that setup may have worked well in the past, he says, today’s customers want to be able to handle their business efficiently. Solvay Bank has solved that problem by training employees to handle a variety of functions, he explains. An employee can handle a deposit for one customer and then turn around and help a new customer open an account, for example.

“We’re trying to create an environment where it’s easy to do business with us,” Mello says. The smart branch blends personal service with technology, providing the best of both worlds to the bank’s clients.

In addition, Solvay Bank added a coffee bar, community conference room, an electronics charging station, and offers Wi-Fi while still providing all the typical commercial and retail banking products that customers expect, Mello says.

With new housing and new businesses opening almost daily, downtown Syracuse is hopping, he says, and it was the right time for Solvay Bank’s branch to invest in it. Along with converting to the smart branch concept, the bank also added 1,000 square feet to its space there, bringing the total square footage for that branch to nearly 3,400 square feet.

Before the dust even settles on the smart branch renovations, Solvay Bank hopes to break ground on its next project, a new branch on East Genesee Street in DeWitt across from Wegmans.

“We’re going to make that a smart office as well,” Mello notes. The DeWitt area is a good location for the bank, he says. “We do have pretty good demand from customers out there who do business with us.” The new branch, which will open in late spring or early summer of 2014, will better serve existing clients in that area and, Mello adds, hopefully attract new customers to Solvay Bank.

The banking landscape has changed a lot in recent years, he notes, with many acquisitions taking place. That creates opportunity for Solvay Bank to reach out to customers who are looking for the blend of technology and services coupled with the personal attention that Solvay Bank offers, Mello says.

Technology is important, he says, and that’s why Solvay Bank offers products such as mobile banking, but at the same time, customers want the ability to talk to someone when they need to.

Mello says the bank is working with a developer, whom he declined to name, on the new branch project. While he didn’t have a total cost for the project to share, Mello says he does expect the bank will expand its current staff of 150 employees by about six people once that branch opens.

Earlier this year, Solvay Bank expanded is main office at 1537 Milton Ave. in Solvay, adding about 13,000 square feet and creating enough space to centralize all of the bank’s support functions for improved efficiency. The bank worked with Parsons-McKenna Construction Co. on the project, which broke ground last June, with work wrapping up this past January.

The company also launched a new branding campaign over the summer with the tagline, “We’re local and we mean it.”

Founded in 1917, Solvay Bank (www.solvaybank.com) has eight branches located in Solvay, Fairmount, Camillus, Liverpool, North Syracuse, Cicero, downtown Syracuse, and Westvale. As of July 15, when the company announced its first-quarter results, the bank had total assets of $647.5 million. The company also operates Solvay Bank Insurance Agency, Inc.

Contact The Business Journal at news@cnybj.com

Responding to Negative Posts on Social Media

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

Today’s technology makes it easy to engage with customers when things are going great. But what about when things are not going so well? How you engage with your audiences during difficult situations can be crucial to your organization’s survival. If a problem arises, it’s important to respond quickly, address the concerns with empathy, and

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Emotional and Social Intelligence: The Key to Long-Term Leadership

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

“If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.” — Daniel Goleman, author of “Emotional Intelligence” I thought

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I thought I would start by hitting you right between the eyes regarding the importance of emotional intelligence — defined as recognizing our own feelings and those of others, motivating ourselves, managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships. And if you find yourself taking exception to any part of the Goleman quote, perhaps you have some blind spots that are getting in your way.

While I didn’t realize it at the time, my first job created my initial foray into the application of emotional and social intelligence.

At 12, I had a newspaper route with about 120 customers. I was a conscientious kid, committed to doing the right thing, and reasonably eager to please. However, it wasn’t too long into my experience delivering papers that I realized some of my customers — in fact, many more than I would have imagined — had different expectations regarding what constituted good customer service.

At first, I was surprised, but as my keen sense of social-awareness kicked in, I began making mental notes about my customers’ various likes and dislikes. I shared those notes with my able-bodied assistant, my 9-year-old brother Chuck, and eventually documented them so that I could have someone handle the route when we were away.

At the same time, I began to notice the things customers did or said that I didn’t like (self-awareness) or that made me upset and pushed my buttons. And while I understood that it was probably not good for business to show my outward displeasure or utter disdain toward a few of the more difficult people, I was left a bit frustrated that I could not figure out a way to have those conversations in an emotionally intelligent way. Intuitively, I realized there must be some way to effectively integrate and master the skills of sharing one’s emotions in a constructive way.

But I had to get past the social scripting about children being seen and not heard and being respectful to adults. This is an example of one of the challenges in getting people to be receptive to the research regarding EQ (emotional quotient) as a leadership imperative, their past scripting and beliefs regarding emotions, the display of emotions, and the importance of connecting with people at the heart level. Most of this scripting occurred at very early ages and many of us have become unconscious as to how these early experiences influence our thinking and behavior.

Think back on some of the more limiting statements or messages that you may have received, or perhaps delivered, regarding emotions and the display of emotions.

§ Boys don’t cry.

§ Showing emotion is a sign of weakness.

§ There is no place for emotion in the workplace.

While I am certainly not advocating “emotions run amok,” I am suggesting a conscious and deliberate effort of strengthening the EQ of all your employees, bearing in mind the following:

§ Emotional intelligence proves to be twice as important as technical skills and IQ combined in achieving excellent job performance.

§ 90 percent of the difference between stars and average performers at the senior leadership level is attributed to emotional intelligence rather than cognitive ability.

§ Emotional intelligence can be developed and the effective application of it is challenging and requires consistent practice and support. It is not about suppressing your emotions, or being soft. It involves recognizing how you’re feeling moment to moment and finding ways to express and channel these emotions in constructive ways.

§ Cultivating practices that enhance your abilities in the emotional-intelligence clusters of self-awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management are critical for long-term leadership effectiveness and success. It’s about intent and action, noticing the impact that emotions expressed and suppressed have on your culture.

Start small by just noticing what you notice. Spend a few minutes a couple times a day to stop, quiet your thinking, and get reconnected to your body. Use this mind-body connection to alert you in advance of the strong emotional reactions that you have to whatever is going on in your world.

“The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice there is little we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and beliefs.” — Daniel Goleman

Ralph Simone is the founder of Productivity Leadership Systems (PLS). Contact him at Ralph@DiscoverPLS.com

New Yorkers and Their Elections

Opinion, Subscriber Only

Dear people of New York City: We do not understand. Some of us who live Upstate. We do not understand. Wait. Let me put that into Big Apple lingo: What??? Are youse nuts or sumpin’? I refer to your upcoming election. You are going to elect a new mayor who is so liberal Fidel could

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Dear people of New York City: We do not understand. Some of us who live Upstate. We do not understand.

Wait. Let me put that into Big Apple lingo: What??? Are youse nuts or sumpin’?

I refer to your upcoming election. You are going to elect a new mayor who is so liberal Fidel could take lessons from him. And he is promising to reverse basic policies that have made the City easier to visit and live in. And safer. Don’t forget safer.

Apparently you have. This guy says he will sack Police Commissioner Kelly. He wants to kill “stop and frisk” policies that have helped bring your murder numbers down and down. They have taken truckloads of weapons off your streets. He wants to reverse policies of Bloomy and Giuliani that rescued your streets from thugs.
We don’t understand.

Used to be a battalion of squeegee guys would extort cash from us when we drove into the City. Used to be we did not park on your streets — because we enjoyed our car having a radio. Used to be we didn’t dare break down on the Henry Hudson Parkway. Leave for 30 minutes, we came back to a car without wheels. Leave for an hour, no doors. Today we can park and leave the car unlocked.

Used to be New York was about the most dangerous city in the Western World. Today it is the safest. Used to be we wore bullet-proof undies to walk your streets at night. We looked over our shoulder constantly. These days, none of that.

Used to be we went to Toronto to watch musicals. Rather than chance a mugging or two on Broadway. Now we come to New York.

Used to be waiters and hotel clerks and people on your streets abused us. They abused each other. They were nasty. Because in such a wretched atmosphere they trusted no one. Today, we find friendliness everywhere in the City.

Used to be we could spot the City folks when they arrived Upstate for vacations and weekends. They looked hunted. They looked like they had escaped a jungle. Which they had. These days they tell us they love the upstate quiet. But they love the city too.

You know all those busloads of pink-haired ladies coming into town to lunch and catch a matinee? In the bad old years the buses were carrying pink-haired ladies out of the City.

So what is it with you people and your election?

Finally, you have seen some improvement in your schools. Led by charter schools. Charter schools have made big and positive differences in the lives of your kids.
And you are going to elect a guy who hates them? He promises to make it more costly for charters to operate.

Maybe this is our fault. You drink water from Upstate. Maybe we’ve got rabid raccoons peeing in the water. They do that, you know. Can’t stop ‘em.

Maybe some of our new upstate distilleries are dumpin’ hootch into the streams that feed your reservoirs. And we grow a lot of weed up here. Maybe … ? Who knows?

We are simple folks up here. We don’t understand complicated things like running a big city. But this much we do understand: The Big Apple used to be the Big Cesspool.

We avoided it and you fled it. Because it had four or five times the murders it now has. It had muggings by the tens of thousands. It had areas where cops dared not drive through at high speed. Nastiness to visitors was its middle name.

Today it is much, much, much improved. And now you want to elect a guy who promises to dismantle the very programs that worked for you?

Are youse guys whacky or sumpin’?

From Tom…as in Morgan.

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home near Oneonta, in addition to his radio shows and new TV show. For more information about him, visit his website at www.tomasinmorgan.com

Finger Lakes Viticulture Center Begins a Promising New Chapter for Our Region and Wine Industry

Opinion, Subscriber Only

It was an exciting week in our community, as we collectively celebrated the groundbreaking of what will be a transformative and historic endeavor. On Thursday, Oct. 24, I joined Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) President Barbara Risser, Senator Mike Nozzolio, and other community leaders to launch the construction of the Finger Lakes Viticulture Center in

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Once completed, the Viticulture Center will bolster FLCC’s world-class Viticulture and Wine Technology Program, enhancing the school’s educational offerings, generating new jobs, and allowing our region to achieve greater innovations in agricultural research and development. To learn more about FLCC’s world-class program, please visit the school’s website at http://flcc.edu/academics/viticulture/.

As your assemblyman, I am extremely proud of my work and collaboration with Senator Nozzolio to secure a $3.2 million investment from the state for the new center. As an FLCC graduate, I’m proud of the expansion the school continues to make. And as a resident of the Finger Lakes region, I’m proud that we serve as an example to the rest of New York on how to create jobs, foster business opportunities, and commit to emerging industries.

Serving as an Example for the Rest of New York

The Finger Lakes region is already home to a number of farms and wineries with a proud tradition of producing quality products. With this week’s groundbreaking, we are continuing to cultivate a growing industry and committing to progress. We are not going to rest on past accomplishments, but instead will seize this opportunity to improve the already world-class viticulture sector in New York. A thriving viticulture industry brings jobs, prosperity, and products of which we can be proud.

The new Viticulture Center perfectly represents the direction New York needs to be going and employs the basic principles necessary to get our economy turned around.

§ A continued focus and investment into emerging industries — like our wineries and agriculture — broadens the opportunities for real job growth and gives industry necessary resources and support to achieve long-term success.

§ Providing educational tools and training enables a new generation of workers to develop skill sets that align with industries that need highly trained workers. Just as the Viticulture Center will lead to new innovation and learning, industries like biotechnology and advanced manufacturing will only succeed here if New York has a skilled workforce that is equipped to meet the demand.

§ Developing public-private partnerships, like the collaborative approach used to make the new center a reality, facilitates the sharing of ideas and taps into the expertise of a number of professionals. Government can do its part — but New York State’s businesses succeed when Albany gets out of the way, and local innovators and entrepreneurs have the freedom to achieve their goals.

As we saw this week in Geneva, this recipe for success has become a reality for our region. The continued progress and focus on our local industry will lead to a brighter future for all New York. Breaking ground on the Finger Lakes Viticulture Center is cause for celebration — for the hard work, for the collaboration and because we are putting ourselves on a path toward a sustainable economy.

Brian M. Kolb (R,I,C–Canandaigua) is the New York Assembly Minority Leader and represents the 131st Assembly District, which encompasses all of Ontario County and parts of Seneca County. Contact him at kolbb@assembly.state.ny.us

Cuomo: new law cuts workers’-compensation costs

Law, Accounting & Taxes

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday detailed a series of measures intended to reduce the cost to employers under New York’s workers’-compensation system 26 percent in

SRC board of trustees names new leadership, officers

CICERO — The board of trustees at SRC, Inc. on Tuesday announced it named M. Catherine Richardson, a retired partner in the Syracuse law firm

WCNY formally opens its broadcast and education center

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism

SYRACUSE — WCNY, Central New York’s public-broadcasting company, today formally opened its new 56,000-square-foot broadcast and education center at 415 W. Fayette St. in Syracuse.

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