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ANDRO awarded $2 million Naval research contract to study AI integration
ROME, N.Y. — The Marconi-Rosenblatt AI Innovation Lab at ANDRO Computational Solutions, in collaboration with Syracuse University, has received a $2 million Small Business Technology
ACCESS FCU names assistant VP of risk management
CLINTON — ACCESS Federal Credit Union (FCU), which serves eight counties in Central New York and Upstate, on Jan. 9 announced the promotion of Alyssa Lawrence to assistant VP of risk management. Lawrence has worked for ACCESS for more than six years. Thomas Owens, president and CEO of ACCESS FCU, announced the promotion. In
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CLINTON — ACCESS Federal Credit Union (FCU), which serves eight counties in Central New York and Upstate, on Jan. 9 announced the promotion of Alyssa Lawrence to assistant VP of risk management.
Lawrence has worked for ACCESS for more than six years. Thomas Owens, president and CEO of ACCESS FCU, announced the promotion.
In this new position, Lawrence will manage the credit union’s security program, serve as chairperson of the safety committee, and supervise the card-services processor and electronic-services processor, per the announcement.
Lawrence will also be responsible for the internal audits of loans, branches, and departments, and will act as a liaison with external auditors and the supervisory committee.
ACCESS Federal Credit Union is a community credit union. The organization has its main office in Clinton and additional locations in Camden, Oneida, Rome, and Sherrill, per its website.
If someone lives, works, worships, or go to school in Madison, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Montgomery, Oneida, or Otsego counties, they may join ACCESS FCU. In addition, businesses and other legal entities located within these counties are eligible to join, the credit union noted.
NBT reports 18 percent profit growth in Q4 and 2024
NORWICH — NBT Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB), the parent company of NBT Bank, N.A., reported strong profit growth for both the fourth quarter of 2024 as well as the full year 2024, following the integration of acquired Salisbury Bancorp, Inc., in August 2023. NBT generated fourth-quarter net income of $36 million, or 76 cents per
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NORWICH — NBT Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB), the parent company of NBT Bank, N.A., reported strong profit growth for both the fourth quarter of 2024 as well as the full year 2024, following the integration of acquired Salisbury Bancorp, Inc., in August 2023.
NBT generated fourth-quarter net income of $36 million, or 76 cents per share, up more than 18 percent from $30.4 million, or 64 cents, in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Full-year net income at the Norwich–based banking and financial-services company totaled $140.6 million, or $2.97 per share, also up over 18 percent from $118.8 million, or $2.65 per share, in 2023.
“Three consecutive quarters of growth in net interest income and margin along with continued strong results from our diverse mix of fee business drove NBT’s operating performance in the fourth quarter of 2024,” NBT President/CEO Scott A. Kingsley said in the Jan. 27 profit report.
During a Jan. 28 conference call with investors, analysts, and the media, Kingsley noted that all three of NBT’s non-banking subsidiaries — NBT Insurance Agency, LLC; EPIC Retirement Plan Services; and wealth-management services — performed well, helping drive noninterest income up 11 percent to $42.2 million. He credits strong financial markets for some of that increase.
The integration of Salisbury Bancorp in August added 13 branches, $1.18 billion in loans, and $1.31 billion in deposits to NBT in 2024.
Total deposits at NBT Bank were $11.55 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024, up 5.3 percent from the end of 2023.
In 2025, NBT Bancorp is going full steam ahead on its planned acquisition of Evans Bancorp, Inc., with plans to close the transaction sometime in the second quarter, after NBT received the required regulatory and shareholder approvals in late 2024.
NBT and Evans entered into the all-stock transaction agreement on Sept. 9. The acquisition will add Evans’ 18 Western New York branches into the NBT Bank network. Evans has assets of $2.28 billion, deposits of $1.9 billion, and net loans of $1.76 billion.
“Our partnership with Evans is a natural geographic expansion of NBT’s footprint,” Kingsley said during the conference call. He noted the deal isn’t just about adding Evans branches, but also actively growing NBT in the western part of the state. “I think we feel very bullish there is growth opportunity for us.”
As of afternoon trading on Jan. 29, NBT’s stock price was almost unchanged year to date, but up about 24 percent in the last 12 months.
Headquartered in Norwich, NBT Bancorp is the parent company of NBT Bank, with 155 branches in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut; EPIC Retirement Services, a national benefits-administration firm in Rochester; and NBT Insurance Agency, a full-service insurance agency based in Norwich.
CFCU Credit Union partners with Brandmint on marketing efforts
ITHACA, N.Y. — CFCU Community Credit Union recently announced a strategic partnership with Brandmint — a Rochester–based full-service marketing agency, which has an Ithaca office
The Summit unveils its EarlyPay service
ROCHESTER — The Summit Federal Credit Union (The Summit) says its newest service is called EarlyPay. It allows Summit members — who have direct deposit into a checking account — to have their paychecks available up to one day earlier than their regular payday. The credit union cites a 2022 survey by the American Payroll
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ROCHESTER — The Summit Federal Credit Union (The Summit) says its newest service is called EarlyPay.
It allows Summit members — who have direct deposit into a checking account — to have their paychecks available up to one day earlier than their regular payday.
The credit union cites a 2022 survey by the American Payroll Association as indicating 93 percent of U.S. workers get their paycheck via direct deposit, and more than 99 percent of Social Security recipients receive their funds through direct deposit as well.
With EarlyPay, all members of the Summit who currently have direct deposit into their checking accounts can receive their paychecks, Social Security, tax returns, and other benefits up to one day early. This service is automatic, meaning members don’t have to sign up and no fees to pay to get started, per the Dec. 10 announcement.
“We are continuously developing products and services that help make the financial lives of our members easier,” Twanda Christensen, VP of marketing and community engagement, said in the credit union’s announcement. “Early access to direct deposits is one of the features that our members have been requesting and, as their trusted financial partner, we are thrilled to now be able to offer this safe and convenient service.”
Founded in 1941, The Summit Federal Credit Union is a nonprofit, member-owned, full-service financial cooperative.
With more than $1.3 billion in assets, The Summit has more than 230 employees and provides financial products and services to more than 93,000 active members in Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and Western New York.
AmeriCU Investments launches Guided Wealth Portfolios
ROME — AmeriCU Investments has launched Guided Wealth Portfolios (GWP), an online investing platform designed to “simplify” wealth management for those looking to start their investment journey. AmeriCU Investments GWP “combine the convenience of digital investing with the personalized support” from AmeriCU’s virtual financial advisors, providing an opportunity for individuals seeking “accessible, professional” investment options,
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ROME — AmeriCU Investments has launched Guided Wealth Portfolios (GWP), an online investing platform designed to “simplify” wealth management for those looking to start their investment journey.
AmeriCU Investments GWP “combine the convenience of digital investing with the personalized support” from AmeriCU’s virtual financial advisors, providing an opportunity for individuals seeking “accessible, professional” investment options, per the Jan. 27 announcement.
Guided Wealth Portfolios require a lower minimum initial investment of $5,000, which allows an investor to have a diversified portfolio, “personalized for you and your individual goals,” AmeriCU Investments said.
The lower minimum investment, combined with automated technology, “makes it ideal” for individuals looking to start their wealth-building journey, AmeriCU contends. People can monitor their portfolios at any time, making it “easier than ever to stay engaged” in their financial goals.
AmeriCU Investments provides retirement planning and financial-advising services through LPL Financial (LPL), a registered investment advisor and broker-dealer.
Guided Wealth Portfolios (GWP) is an investment-advisory program sponsored by LPL Financial LLC (LPL), an SEC registered investment adviser and member FINRA/SIPC, and subadvised by FutureAdvisor, an SEC registered investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
GWP uses proprietary, automated, computer algorithms of FutureAdvisor to generate investment recommendations based upon model portfolios constructed by LPL. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC and does not imply a certain level of skill or training, per the AmeriCU announcement.
KeyCorp to pay 1st quarter 2025 dividend in mid-March
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) — parent company of KeyBank, the No. 2 bank ranked by deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York region — has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20.5 cents per share of its common stock for the first quarter of this year. The dividend is payable on March 14, to
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KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) — parent company of KeyBank, the No. 2 bank ranked by deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York region — has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20.5 cents per share of its common stock for the first quarter of this year.
The dividend is payable on March 14, to holders of record as of the close of business on March 4. At Key’s current stock price, the dividend yields about 4.5 percent on an annual basis.
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial-services companies, with assets of about $190 billion as of the end of the third quarter of 2024. Its roots trace back almost 200 years to Albany. KeyBank has a network of about 1,000 branches and about 1,200 ATMs in 15 states.
Jefferson County hotel occupancy falls more than 7 percent in December
WATERTOWN — Jefferson County hotels registered a drop in occupancy in December, as two other key indicators of hotel-business performance were mixed in the same month. The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the North Country’s most populous county declined 7.4 percent to 33.5 percent in the final month of
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WATERTOWN — Jefferson County hotels registered a drop in occupancy in December, as two other key indicators of hotel-business performance were mixed in the same month.
The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the North Country’s most populous county declined 7.4 percent to 33.5 percent in the final month of 2024, compared to December 2023, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. For all of 2024, hotel occupancy was up 2.2 percent to 52.9 percent.
Revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, fell 5.3 percent in Jefferson County to $35.08 in December, compared to the year-ago month. For the full year, RevPar increased 6.9 percent to $64.06.
The average daily rate (ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, rose 2.3 percent to $104.58 in December from the same month in 2023, per STR. For the entire year, ADR increased 4.6 percent to $121.13 in the county.
Brown & Brown Insurance to pay Q1 dividend of 15 cents on Feb. 12
Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO) — the Florida–based parent of Brown & Brown of New York, Inc., which has an office in Syracuse — recently announced it will pay a regular quarterly cash dividend of 15 cents per share for the first quarter of 2025. The payment is payable on Feb. 12, to shareholders
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Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO) — the Florida–based parent of Brown & Brown of New York, Inc., which has an office in Syracuse — recently announced it will pay a regular quarterly cash dividend of 15 cents per share for the first quarter of 2025.
The payment is payable on Feb. 12, to shareholders of record on Feb. 5, the insurance-brokerage firm announced on Jan. 22.
The dividend is the same amount that Brown & Brown paid in the fourth quarter, when it boosted the quarterly payment by 15 percent from the 13 cents a share that it paid in the third quarter. That marked the company’s 31st straight annual dividend increase.
Daytona Beach–headquartered Brown & Brown, through its subsidiaries, offers a broad range of insurance products and risk-management services. It has about 17,000 employees and more than 500 offices worldwide. The insurance-brokerage firm makes frequent acquisitions of insurance agencies a major part of its growth strategy. Its stock price has gained about 80 percent in the last two years and 150 percent over the past five years, as of Jan. 24, according to Yahoo Finance data.
Brown & Brown of New York has an office at 500 Plum St. in Syracuse’s Franklin Square area.
Dannible & McKee partner named to committee for national construction association
SYRACUSE — Dannible & McKee, LLP, a certified public accounting and consulting firm based in Syracuse, announced that Kenneth C. Gardiner, an audit consulting partner at the firm, has been appointed to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) National Budget & Finance Committee for 2025. As a member of this key committee, Gardiner will leverage
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SYRACUSE — Dannible & McKee, LLP, a certified public accounting and consulting firm based in Syracuse, announced that Kenneth C. Gardiner, an audit consulting partner at the firm, has been appointed to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) National Budget & Finance Committee for 2025.
As a member of this key committee, Gardiner will leverage his extensive financial expertise and his strong understanding of the construction industry to help guide the organization’s strategic financial goals.
Gardiner has a “distinguished history” with ABC, having served as treasurer for the ABC Empire State Chapter for 35 years, according to the Dannible & McKee announcement. He further solidified his leadership role when he was recently appointed chairman of the chapter’s board of directors. In recognition of his dedication and contributions, Gardiner was inducted into the ABC Hall of Fame in the fall of 2024.
Founded in 1950, ABC is a national trade association representing more than 23,000 members in the construction industry. With a focus on the merit-shop philosophy, ABC and its 67 chapters work to help members develop talent, secure projects, and deliver work safely, ethically, and profitably for the betterment of their communities.
With 43 years of experience in audit and accounting services, Gardiner has extensive expertise spanning a variety of industries, with a concentration in construction, according to Dannible & McKee. He was the first professional in upstate New York to earn the certified construction industry financial professional (CCIFP) designation. His expertise also extends to employee-benefit plan audits, consulting on Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) overhead rates and assisting clients in developing financial-reporting systems, the firm added.
Founded in 1978, Dannible & McKee offers professional services in audit, tax, accounting, and financial-management consulting to clients nationwide. The firm specializes in key industries and offers expertise in multi-state taxation, business valuation, litigation support and fraud prevention and detection. Dannible & McKee has offices in Syracuse, Auburn, Binghamton, and Schenectady, New York, as well as Tampa, Florida. The firm has more than 115 professional and support personnel, including 23 partners.
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