First Niagara Financial Group, Inc.’s pending acquisition of New Haven, Conn.–based NewAlliance Bancshares, Inc. should lead to more jobs for First Niagara in upstate New York.

SYRACUSE — One of Upstate’s largest credit unions plans to acquire a mortgage-banking company with an office in Salina next month.

ROME — Amid efforts to resolve compliance issues with the federal Office of Thrift Supervision, Rome Bancorp, the holding company for The Rome Savings Bank, reported second-quarter earnings that fell just short of analyst expectations.

First Niagara and New Haven, Conn.-based NewAlliance Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:NAL) announced that they will combine in a cash and stock transaction worth $1.5 billion. NewAlliance shareholders will receive 1.10 shares of First Niagara stock for each NewAlliance share they own.

The company released its 2010 Closing Costs Survey on Monday. The survey found that New York led the nation with average origination and closing costs of more than $5,600. Arkansas was the least expensive area with average fees of more than $3,000.

ROME - Rome Savings Bank gave Charles Sprock a summer job in 1960.

In June, Sprock will celebrate his 49th year with the company - the last 29 of them as president and CEO.

"The summer job grew into an i

Since 2004, identity theft has victimized over 27 million Americans or one-tenth of the total U.S. population, according to Credit Union Magazine. Of that 27 million, almost 10 million Americans were victimized in 2008 alone.