First Niagara targets small end of Pittsburgh business banking market - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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Competition among banks in the alreadyheating up, could reach a boiling point when Firsrt Niagara Financial Group enters Pittsburgh this First Niagara, based in Lockport, N.Y., confirmed it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a block of 57 former branches with depositse of $4.2 billion from Fifty of the branchesd are in the Pittsburgh First Niagara will pay $54 a deposit premium of 1.3 percent, for the entire group. Local banks hope to dislodge customerss from not only First Niagaraz butalso PNC.
Many, such as and , have hired Nationalp City personnel with deep roots in the Some have advertising efforts underway emphasizint the importance of choosing a bank rather than bein gassigned one. Marco Cardamone, CEO of South Side-basee Merging Media, is a personal and businesz customer ofthe Mt. Washington National City He doesn’t expect to switch bank — as long as First Niagar a doesn’t disrupt personnel. “The big factoer is the people inthe branch,” Cardamone said. “We have relationships with the tellerds and the people onthe floor, and that’s wherew we have our loyalty. Most banks are pretty standardx in the servicesthey deliver.
Ownership changes and productse comeand go, but the thing that remaind stable is how you relate to the folk at your locap branch.” Vincent Delie, president of the banking grou p at First National Bank of Pennsylvania Corp., “This business is about people. It doesn’t matter what brand,” said who was a National City executiv e prior tojoining F.N.B. “I’m not sure what impact (Firsy Niagara) is going to have, but National City did an excellent job of servinbthese markets. We welcome the competition.” For its part, Firstg Niagara expects to start its own marketinh blitzEaster weekend.
It also will begih courting business customers well beforethe sale’s expected completionb in September. Lanier Little, executive vice president of consumer banking, said First Niagara expects to add more branchea here, but couldn’t say how many. He said the branch staffin g format is similar toNationall City’s, and that branch managerws are trained to work with small busines s customers and to serve as “rainmakers,” drawing in new First Niagara plans to open a loan generation officd here “as soon as we can staff said Daniel Cantara, executive vice president of commercial services.
Cantara expects to startf interviewing for 15 staffers next Banks define middlemarket differently. First Niagara’s “sweet spot” is on the smallert side. Cantara said it viewz the size range as companies with annual sales between $2.5 million and $15 though it will look at deals in the $30 millionh range. But it is an activse lender, all told. “We’ve grownm our loan portfolio by 20 percent annually for the past several evenin 2008,” Cantara said. First Niagara has been a major Small Business Association lender on its home Forthe SBA’s fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Firsy Niagara completed 78 SBA loans with total dollar volumeof $8.55 million.
The bank does not have a privatequity arm, although it has occasionally invester in funds, CEO John Koelmel First Niagara will fit in with Pittsburgh’s community and regional said Brian Koble, a senior research analyst at “Thisa new bank is primarily going to compete with PNC’a competitors, a lot of those are hometown names who have been aroun d a long time. It will be heavyu sledding for First Niagara to capture markey share againstthose banks,” Koble For his part, Koelmel said the prospect of going up against PNC is an energizinf opportunity. “We’re used to competing against the big he said.
“We certainly have a lot of respectfor PNC, but we’rre confident in our ability to compete.”