Genesee Sun

HSBC Banks in Avon and Geneseo Sold Again, Community Bank New Owners

AVON — If you were banking with HSBC and were going to get new checks printed since it was sold to First Niagara you had better hold on. The HSBC banks in Avon and Geneseo, which were recently sold to First Niagara, have been sold again to Community Bank, which currently has a branch in Mount Morris.

The deal is part of an ongoing shuffle of banks in  Western New York. The  branches to be acquired include 16 current HSBC branches in Gowanda, Springville, Westfield, Palmyra, Newark, Geneseo, Watkins Glen, Avon, Watertown (2), Plattsburgh, Oswego, Fulton, Lowville, Adams, and Alexandria Bay; and three current First Niagara branches in Geneva (2) and Canandaigua.

"We're excited by this opportunity to further strengthen Community Bank's service footprint across our existing Upstate New York market area," said President and Chief Executive Officer Mark E. Tryniski. "This acquisition is consistent with our long-term growth strategy and leverages a strong competency developed during previous successful branch acquisitions. We believe this is a very attractive transaction which will be additive to the existing strength of our core markets and which will be additive to shareholder value through expected earnings accretion of 4 percent to 5 percent in 2013."

According to a press release Community Bank, First Niagara and HSBC will communicate with customers of these branches to explain potential changes to their banking relationships following the transfer. There will be no changes to customer accounts prior to the transaction closing. Customers of the acquired branches need not take any action at this time.

"Our team will be working closely with employees of First Niagara and HSBC to ensure a smooth transition which we expect will be virtually seamless for customers," said Tryniski. "We believe that our new customers will be very pleased with our strong focus on customer service and our comprehensive product line."