Community Bank System has completed its $98.3 million deal for Steuben Trust Corp., wrapping up the second of three recent mergers involving banks serving the Buffalo Niagara region.
Community Bank’s deal includes Steuben Trust’s lone branch in the Buffalo Niagara region, in Clarence. Steuben Trust, which traces its roots back 118 years, is based in Hornell. Community Bank is headquartered in suburban Syracuse.
As a result of the deal, Community Bank has over $13 billion in assets and over $10 billion in deposits. Community Bank now has five branches in Erie County, including the Steuben Trust branch in Clarence.
After a long period of inactivity, bank deals in the region picked up steam in late 2019. Now the banks are completing those acquisitions.
In May, Hamburg-based Evans Bancorp finished its $34.7 million deal for the holding company of Fairport Savings Bank, which serves Rochester.
The deal expanded Evans’ branch presence beyond the Buffalo Niagara region. Evans plans to rebrand the Fairport branches and integrate the banks’ systems later this summer.
Bank on Buffalo, which is part of Pennsylvania-based CNB Financial, is aiming to complete its purchase of the Bank of Akron in July. That deal was valued at $64.5 million when it was announced in December.
With the absorption of Steuben Trust and Bank of Akron through mergers, the number of banks with branches in the Buffalo Niagara region will drop to 16, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
Posted by The Buffalo News
