KeyBank donates $300,000 to Say Yes to Education program

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SYRACUSE — KeyBank (NYSE: KEY) on Monday night donated $300,000 to the endowment fund of the Say Yes to Education program. Say Yes to Education,

Foundations award grants to Family & Children’s Society in Binghamton

Nonprofits

BINGHAMTON — Two organizations have awarded the Family & Children’s Society, Inc. of Binghamton grant awards for capital improvements at its facility. The Steward W.

Junior Achievement of Rochester acquires operating rights in CNY

Nonprofits

ROCHESTER — Junior Achievement (JA) of Rochester today announced it has expanded its service area to include the territory that Junior Achievement of Central New

Jimmy John’s restaurant opens in Pike Block

Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism

SYRACUSE — Jimmy John’s, a national franchised sandwich restaurant chain based in Champaign, Ill., has opened its third Syracuse–area eatery in the Pike Block in

State sees 72 percent increase in farm-based beverage licenses since 2011

Sports, Entertainment & Tourism

The number of New York’s farm-based beverage licenses for distilleries, wineries, breweries, and cideries has increased 72 percent since 2011. That’s according to a statement

Gillibrand, Hanna announce a bill to expand access to pre-K programs

Health Care, Law, Accounting & Taxes

HERKIMER — U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–NY) and U.S. Representative Richard Hanna (R–Barneveld) today announced legislation to expand access to early-learning programs for children from

New York state recovers a record $851 million in improper Medicaid payments

Health Care, Insurance & Financial Services

Preliminary calculations indicate New York state inspectors recovered more than $851 million in taxpayer money that was improperly spent in the Medicaid program in 2013,

Cuomo launches Business Mentor NY

Small Business, Subscriber Only

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced the formal launch of Business Mentor NY, the state’s first “large scale, hands-on” mentoring program geared to help entrepreneurs and small businesses across New York overcome challenges and spur growth. First mentioned in Cuomo’s State of the State address, the new initiative builds on the volunteer-mentoring efforts that helped

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First mentioned in Cuomo’s State of the State address, the new initiative builds on the volunteer-mentoring efforts that helped businesses following Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene, and Tropical Storm Lee, the governor’s office said in a news release.

The free mentoring program connects volunteers working in the private sector to small businesses and minority and women-owned businesses to help them address specific challenges and obstacles to success.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides some of the funding for the program, while Empire State Development handles the program’s administration, Cuomo’s office said.

The one-on-one guidance and counsel will complement the state’s current network of financial and technical-assistance providers.

“When fully operational, it will function as one of the largest integrated networks in the country that will meet the needs of all businesses across New York state,” Cuomo said in the news release.

The mentoring network includes lawyers, accountants, business consultants, and entrepreneurs, along with experts in the field of finance, retail, communications and information technology, human resources and staffing, public relations, and sales and marketing, according to the governor’s office.

The state says it is conducting the program in partnership with MicroMentor, an initiative of Portland, Ore.–based Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps, to leverage its track record of success nationwide.

Mercy Corps says it works to “alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities,” according the organization’s website.

MicroMentor says it has found that businesses that participate in formal mentoring programs, such as Business Mentor NY, are more likely to increase their annual revenue, create jobs, and launch successful businesses compared to business that don’t participate in mentoring programs.

As part of the second stage of the program, New York will launch the Business Mentor NY website this spring. It’ll allowing small businesses to register for the program online, review mentor profiles, and engage with mentors directly.

Program administrators will also be available to help small businesses identify suitable mentors and ensure program quality.

In the final stage, Business Mentor NY will be available to small businesses throughout New York, the governor’s office said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Chemung Financial profit slips 30 percent in Q4

Banks & Credit Unions, Subscriber Only

ELMIRA — Chemung Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CHMG), the parent company of Chemung Canal Trust Company, reported net income of nearly $1.5 million, or 32 cents per share, in the fourth quarter. That’s down 30 percent from the $2.1 million, or 46 cents a share, the banking company earned during the same quarter in 2012. Excluding

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ELMIRA — Chemung Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CHMG), the parent company of Chemung Canal Trust Company, reported net income of nearly $1.5 million, or 32 cents per share, in the fourth quarter.

That’s down 30 percent from the $2.1 million, or 46 cents a share, the banking company earned during the same quarter in 2012.

Excluding certain one-time gains and acquisition expenses, Chemung Financial’s core net income for the fourth quarter was $1.7 million, or 37 cents per share, it reported.

Chemung Canal Trust Co. completed its acquisition of six former Bank of America branch offices located in Auburn, Cortland, Ithaca, and Seneca Falls in the fourth quarter.

The bank acquired nearly $178 million in deposits and $1.2 million in loans in the transaction.

Chemung Financial expects the acquisition to add to its earnings in 2015. The company now operates 31 branch offices in New York and 3 branches in Pennsylvania.

It’s Chemung Financial’s fourth acquisition over the past five years.

For the entire year, Chemung Financial earned net income of $8.7 million, or $1.87 per share, down 21 percent from $11 million, or $2.38 per share, during 2012, the company said.

As expected, 2013 was an “eventful and challenging” year as earnings came “under pressure” from net-interest margin compression, Ronald Bentley, president and CEO of Chemung Financial, said in the earnings report.

“The single best strategy to combat margin compression is to grow our balance sheet, so we were pleased with the acquisition of six branch offices in contiguous markets during the fourth quarter of 2013. This transaction becomes increasingly accretive to earnings as we channel the acquired deposits into loans over the next few years,” Bentley said.

Besides the acquisition, Chemung Financial generated “solid” organic growth in both loans and deposits during 2013, Bentley said.

“Commercial loans increased $64.5 million, or 14.2 percent, and consumer loans increased $42.4 million, or 17.7 percent. Excluding the deposits acquired in the branch acquisition, organic growth in deposits was $40.9 million, or 3.9 percent,” he added.

As of Dec. 31, 2013, Chemung Financial reported $1.4 billion in total assets and $1.89 billion of assets under management or administration within its Wealth Management Division.

Those figures are up from the $1.2 billion in total assets and $1.74 billion of assets under management or administration within the Wealth Management Group at the end of 2012.

In addition to retail and commercial banking products, Chemung Canal Trust provides wealth-management products, as well as trust, estate, retirement, and investment services.

Chemung Canal Trust currently has 34 total bank branches in Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins counties in New York and Bradford County in Pennsylvania.

Chemung Financial also operates five branches, under the name Capital Bank, in Albany and Saratoga counties.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

GPO Federal Credit Union names Mayhew to president, CEO posts

Banks & Credit Unions, Regional News, Subscriber Only

NEW HARTFORD — The board of directors of GPO Federal Credit Union (GPOFCU) in New Hartford on Tuesday announced it has selected Nicholas Mayhew to serve as president and CEO. Mayhew assumes his new role on Feb. 3. He most recently served as vice president and CFO of Rome Memorial Hospital, GPOFCU said in a

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