The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has approved First Niagara Bank N.A.'s acquisition of Upstate New York and Connecticut branches from HSBC Bank USA N.A.
The approval marks the final regulatory hurdle for the roughly $1.1 billion acquisition, bank officials said. It also clears the path for the deal to close next month.
"We are very pleased to have received the OCC's approval which was the final requirement to completing the transaction on May 18," said First Niagara president and CEO John Koelmel. "We have begun communicating with our customers as to what they can expect in the weeks ahead and I am fully confident that our team will again deliver a smooth transition.”
“Once complete, our more than 200 locations across Upstate New York will provide customers with even greater access and convenience to the First Niagara team as well as our products and services."
When First Niagara completes its acquisition of the HSBC branches, the Buffalo-based regional bank will have nearly 430 locations, $30 billion in total deposits, $38 billion in assets and more than 6,000 employees serving consumers, businesses and communities across New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Bank officials said the transaction will provide First Niagara with No. 1 retail market share across Upstate New York, roughly doubling its number of branches in New York to more than 200.
First Niagara, as part of the transition and the regulatory process, plans consolidate some branches and sell additional locations to KeyBank N.A., Community Bank System Inc. and Financial Institutions Inc., parent of Five Star Bank.
(c) 2012 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or email service@rbj.net.
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