Community Bank to add two branches in Capital Region
Expansion plan part of an initiative in specific areas around upstate
DEWITT — Community Bank is looking to open two new branches in the Capital Region by 2025, the company said this week.
The expansion, coupled with existing branches located in Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer, Warren, and Washington counties, will bring Community Bank’s branch count up to 11 locations within the Capital Region and is part of a broader initiative to open more branches in specific areas around upstate.
The announcement comes as newly appointed President and CEO Dimitar Karaivanov officially steps into his role this year and begins to execute his strategic vision for the bank. The bank said it will bring a full suite of consumer, business and municipal banking products and services including no closing cost mortout gage options, business loans and lines of credit and competitive CD offerings.
“Community Bank is not just expanding, but deepening our roots in the Capital Region,” Chief Banking Officer Jeff Levy said in a statement. “Our branches are the cornerstone of our retail business, and each one allows us to support the community and deepen our relationships with our customers as we partner together throughtheir financial journey.”
Community Bank also will continue to grow its branch presence throughout Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo in New York, as well as throughout Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, Springfield, Mass., and its first physical branch in New Hampshire. It operates more than 200 customer facilities across upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont and
western Massachusetts.
With more than $15.1 billion in assets, the Dewitt-based company is among the country’s 125 largest financial institutions.
Community Bank’s expansion plans come a month after Boston-based Berkshire Bank said it was selling nine branches in the Capital Region.
The Poughkeepsie-based Hudson Valley Credit Union is slated to buy eight of those branches. Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company is set to buy the ninth branch.
According to the Banking Dive newsletter, Berkshire Bank CEO Nitin Mhatret said the sale was aimed at increasing efficiency. The bank still has 16 branches across upstate New York.