Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Tue, January 31, 2012 First Niagara Survey Shows More Upstate NY Business Leaders Optimistic Than Pessimistic About 2012 State Business Climate
First Niagara Survey Shows More Upstate NY Business Leaders Optimistic Than Pessimistic... -- BUFFALO, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
First Niagara Survey Shows More Upstate NY Business Leaders Optimistic Than Pessimistic About 2012 State Business Climate
BUFFALO, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- More Upstate New York private business leaders expect business conditions to get better in New York State in 2012 than those who predict they will worsen as executives continue to cautiously operate their companies within the "new normal" created by the recession of 2008-09, according to First Niagara's Fifth Annual Survey of Upstate New York Business Leaders released today.
Survey findings indicate they will also proceed with caution based on forecasts for revenues, profitability, workforce size, and fixed asset acquisitions that mirror levels predicted for 2011.
"The good news is that many business leaders continue to express more favorable expectations for their business operations and overall business conditions compared to where they were two and three years ago," said Peter Cosgrove, Upstate New York regional president for First Niagara Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Niagara Financial Group (Nasdaq: FNFG). "With a focus on business stability, these company leaders are telling us 2012 may look more like 2011 and that conditions point to a less than robust economic recovery."
Responding to the survey conducted by the Siena College Research Institute were 636 leaders of private businesses with $5 million to $150 million in annual sales.
Results are available at [ https://www.fnfg.com/CEOSurvey ].
ABOUT FIRST NIAGARA
First Niagara, through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Niagara Bank, N.A., is a multi-state community-oriented bank that currently has approximately $33 billion in assets, $19 billion in deposits, more than 330 branches and 5,000 employees providing financial services to individuals, families and businesses across Upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. For more information, visit [ www.fnfg.com ].
When First Niagara completes its acquisition of the HSBC branches, expected to occur in the second quarter of 2012, the regional bank will have an enhanced leadership position in the Northeast, with nearly 430 locations, $30 billion in total deposits, $38 billion in assets and more than 6,000 employees serving consumers, businesses and communities across New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The transaction will also provide First Niagara with number-one retail market share across Upstate New York, virtually doubling its number of branches in New York State to more than 200, stretching from Buffalo to Albany and down through the Hudson Valley.
SOURCE First Niagara Bank
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[ http://www.fnfg.com ]
