Seventeen HSBC bank branches in the lower Hudson Valley and six branch offices in Fairfield County, Conn., are included in HSBC Bank USA”™s pending $1-billion sale of 195 retail branches to First Niagara Bank. The seller is a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings p.l.c., based in London.
The all-cash transaction, in which First Niagara will pay a premium of 6.67 percent of the deposits to be transferred, is expected to close in early 2012. The sold branches as of May 31 held approximately $15 billion in deposits, $15 billion in gross assets, including $2.8 billion in loans, and managed $4.3 billion in assets.
Most of the branches are in upstate New York, where First Niagara Bank has its headquarters in Buffalo. Included in the sale are four branches in Westchester County ”“ in Bedford Hills, Mount Kisco, Ossining and Jefferson Valley ”“ two retail branches in Putnam County, five in Dutchess County, nine in Rockland County and three branches in Orange County. First Niagara also agreed to acquire HSBC”™s six Connecticut branches in Ridgefield, Monroe, Fairfield, Shelton and Wilton.
HSBC officials said the bank will continue to serve and develop corporate banking relationships in upstate New York as part of its ongoing strategic focus on commercial and corporate banking in the U.S. HSBC will continue to provide a full suite of international commercial banking offerings through its four business centers in the region.
The affected branch offices will be open for business throughout the transition.
HSBC serves about 3.7 million customers in the U.S. and operates more than 470 bank branches nationwide, including about 370 branches in New York state.
John Koelmel, president and CEO of First Niagara Bank, recently was appointed by the governor to serve on the newly formed Western New York Regional Economic Development Council.
