First Niagara Bank will launch the Tri-State Region, dedicated to markets in the lower Hudson Valley, Fairfield County, Conn., and northern New Jersey. The announcement comes after the banking corporation”™s foray into the Hudson Valley region last year.
The central office for the Tri-State Region will be based in Nyack, where First Niagara already has a branch office, and will be supported by the bank”™s regional office in Norwalk, Conn. First Niagara operates banking centers in New Haven, Hartford, and Manchester, Conn. as part of First Niagara’s New England Region.
With the new Tri-State Region, First Niagara hopes to build up its commercial lending business. The region has a high concentration of large firms in the manufacturing, health care and other industries with substantial capital requirements.
First Niagara is looking for a Tri-State Regional president to head the new venture and is recruiting to fill other key regional leadership positions.
Last May, First Niagara converted upstate New York and Connecticut branches acquired from HSBC Bank USA. The bank opened more than 100 former HSBC branches as First Niagara branches. Because of that growth, First Niagara was able to add more than 1,200 employees, including more than 250 in the Hudson Valley, and approximately 500,000 new customers across New York and Connecticut.
