First Niagara Financial Group says it is consolidating 17 branches and two off premise drive-thru locations across its four-state footprint.
The only Rochester area branch is the one located at HSBC Plaza downtown. That branch will close, and will be consolidated into a First Niagara bank located at 19 West Main Street.
First Niagara Executive Vice President Mark Rendulic says that across the financial services industry, branch traffic is declining and self-service transactions are increasing. He says branches are still a critical part of the business, particularly for more complex banking, but overall, he says a majority of customers prefer online, mobile and ATMs for simple transactions.
Customers of the impacted branches will get a written notice, sent 90 days in advance of the closing date. The customer accounts will automatically be transferred to a nearby branch.
First Niagara says that employees of the affected branches will either be moved to new roles or they can apply for open positions throughout the banking operation.
