Ithaca Area Economic Development invests in local energy company

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ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca Area Economic Development (IAED) announced it has approved a $50,000 convertible-debt investment for Dimensional Energy, a company that extracts carbon dioxide

Syracuse Fire Department Employees FCU offers Zelle digital-payment network

Banks & Credit Unions, Subscriber Only, Technology

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union announced it is offering its members a “fast, safe and easy” way to send money digitally with Zelle. More than 6,000 of its members now have access to Zelle via online banking or in the credit union’s mobile app. The credit union is the 1,000th

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union announced it is offering its members a “fast, safe and easy” way to send money digitally with Zelle.

More than 6,000 of its members now have access to Zelle via online banking or in the credit union’s mobile app. The credit union is the 1,000th financial institution nationally to offer Zelle, per its June 17 news release.

To mark the milestone, the credit union on May 28 hosted an onsite, member-exclusive launch party at its office at 211 Wilkinson St. in Syracuse.

The credit union said the convenience of the new service appeals to its members.

“Our members have jobs that are anything but 9 to 5 and need to be able to send money quickly and easily, at the time and place that is most convenient for them,” said Andrea Thune, CEO of Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union.

Money sent with Zelle goes directly from one bank account in the U.S. to another, using only a recipient’s email address or U.S. mobile number. Funds are “typically available within minutes” when both parties are already enrolled with Zelle.

“Zelle turned four years [old] in June, and what better way to celebrate than welcoming our 1,000th financial institution to the network,” said Al Ko, CEO at Early Warning Services, LLC, the network operator of Zelle. “For more than 70 years, Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union has served local first responders with financial services, and it is an honor for Zelle to now be a part of that experience.”

Early Warning Services is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union is offering Zelle via a turnkey service for Zelle offered by Brookfield, Wisconsin–based Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV). It “optimizes” the path to go live so that banks and credit unions can get their customers and members using Zelle “faster than ever before.” Fiserv enables Zelle for more than 600 financial institutions, the local credit union said.

“Consumers are embracing the speed, convenience and security of real-time payments, and financial institutions are ready to deliver,” Matt Wilcox, president, digital payments and data aggregation at Fiserv, said. “We’re proud to be part of this milestone as Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union enables their hard-working members to take the next step in their digital payments journey.”

The Zelle network includes financial institutions of all sizes. Consumers who are not enrolled and receive a payment notification or a request for payment can enroll through their financial institution or by downloading the Zelle app if their financial institution does not offer Zelle. Consumers should only use Zelle to send and receive money with friends, family, and people they know and trust, the credit union said.

The Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union was chartered on March 24, 1950.

First Source Federal Credit Union interactive ATMs now available in downtown Utica

Banks & Credit Unions, Regional News, Subscriber Only, Technology

UTICA, N.Y. —First Source Federal Credit Union recently announced it has expanded into downtown Utica by launching interactive ATMs. They’re similar to standard ATMs, but with more capability, First Source said in a news release. Located on Cornelia Street, the interactive ATMs are accessible from Cornelia, Court and Genesee streets, the credit union noted. In

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UTICA, N.Y. —First Source Federal Credit Union recently announced it has expanded into downtown Utica by launching interactive ATMs.

They’re similar to standard ATMs, but with more capability, First Source said in a news release. Located on Cornelia Street, the interactive ATMs are accessible from Cornelia, Court and Genesee streets, the credit union noted.

In addition to standard ATM functions such as withdrawing cash and checking balances, these machines allow members to perform other transactions. On these machines, members can cash a check, transfer funds within First Source accounts, make payments on First Source loans, view transaction history, make envelope-free deposits of cash or checks, and withdraw cash in multiple bill denominations, which are “not limited to 20s.”

If using the machine during business hours, members will also have access to a First Source member-service representative live on-screen through video chat.

“When COVID-19 emerged, it made it even more imperative to be able to offer additional full-service virtual banking solutions to our membership,” Tom Neumann, president and CEO of First Source Federal Credit Union, said. “We are thrilled to be able to give our members a new convenient way to access their First Source accounts in the downtown area.”

First Source is in the process of converting all its ATMs to the interactive version. Besides the ones in downtown Utica, interactive ATMs are also currently available in the New Hartford and Rome lobbies.

Those who aren’t members of First Source Federal Credit Union can still use the machines, but they will simply function at the standard ATM level for non-member use, First Source said.

About First Source

First Source Federal Credit Union has served its members since 1938. Originally founded as Utica Teachers Federal Credit Union, it changed the name to First Source in 1992 to better reflect a broader membership.

The credit union serves more than 50,000 members with current branches in New Hartford, South Utica, North Utica, Herkimer, and Rome, a member-care contact center, and online and mobile banking.

Five Star Bank gets regulatory approval for Elmira branch move

Banks & Credit Unions, Construction, Design & Real Estate, Regional News, Subscriber Only

ELMIRA, N.Y — Five Star Bank in late June received state regulatory approval for the planned relocation of its Elmira branch to 100 West Water St. from its current location at 150 Lake St. The New York State Department of Financial Services on June 22 granted approval to Five Star Bank to change the location

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ELMIRA, N.Y — Five Star Bank in late June received state regulatory approval for the planned relocation of its Elmira branch to 100 West Water St. from its current location at 150 Lake St.

The New York State Department of Financial Services on June 22 granted approval to Five Star Bank to change the location of its branch office at 150 Lake St. in Elmira to 100 West Water St. in Elmira, on or after June 23.

Five Star Bank is a subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI), which is headquartered in Warsaw in Wyoming County in Western New York.

Five Star Bank first announced the planned branch relocation in late April, anticipating it would happen in July.

“We are very pleased to support the revitalization of downtown Elmira with our move to 100 West Water Street,” Martin Birmingham, president and CEO of Five Star Bank, said in a late April release. “In this new and redesigned branch, our associates will continue to provide the personalized service that customers have come to expect from Five Star Bank as well as advanced digital banking services. We look forward to growing our presence in the Elmira community as we offer education, advice and banking, investment and insurance solutions to help customers improve their financial well-being.”

The branch will be the second to feature Five Star’s new “reimagined” design, including a mix of new technology and community banking with branch staff available, the release stated.

The branch will have an exterior ATM kiosk and vestibule ATM, which will be accessible to customers around the clock. The ATMs will also function as “interactive teller machines,” enabling customers to video-call customer-service representatives to complete basic transactions.

Five Star Bank has more than 45 branches throughout Western and Central New York. Its CNY branches include offices in Auburn, Seneca Falls, Geneva, Ovid, Horseheads, and Elmira. Financial Institutions and its subsidiaries employ about 600 people.

Tompkins Financial Advisors names Green CNY managing director

Banks & Credit Unions, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Insurance & Financial Services, Regional News, Subscriber Only

ITHACA, N.Y. — Tompkins Financial Advisors announced it has recently promoted Jennifer Green to VP and managing director of its Central New York region. In this post, based in Ithaca, Green is responsible for growing the number of customers and assets under management in the region by “ensuring each of the company’s team of advisors

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ITHACA, N.Y. — Tompkins Financial Advisors announced it has recently promoted Jennifer Green to VP and managing director of its Central New York region.

In this post, based in Ithaca, Green is responsible for growing the number of customers and assets under management in the region by “ensuring each of the company’s team of advisors provides clients with the highest level of care,” the company said. She previously served as a senior wealth advisor and sales manager with Tompkins Financial Advisors, responsible for the growth of its Syracuse market.

“We had been carefully considering who would be ideal for this leadership position,” Brian Howard, president of Tompkins Financial Advisors and previous interim managing director for the CNY region, said in a release. “Jennifer has proven to be an invaluable asset to the company, as well as her team members, and has earned the respect of our clients and internal teams alike. She has deep connections in Central New York, a clear vision for growth and a passion for client service, so we know she’ll thrive in this position.”

A resident of Marcellus, Green has 20 years of experience in wealth management and financial services. Recently, she authored an article, titled “Post-Pandemic Money Moves: Financial Considerations for Business Owners & Leaders,” published in the April 26 issue of CNYBJ.

Prior to joining Tompkins Financial Advisors, Green served as managing director of Stratos Wealth Partners. She has also worked in several leadership roles at MetLife, most recently as regional director for the northeast, and in various roles at HSBC Bank and ADP.

Green holds an associate degree from Onondaga Community College. Active in her community, she served several years as an active board member for March of Dimes’ Central New York Chapter, leading its annual Bikers for Babies Ride and other fundraising efforts.

Tompkins Financial Advisors is the wealth-management firm of Tompkins Financial Corp. (NYSE: TMP) a banking and financial-services holding company headquartered in Ithaca. In business for more than a century, Tompkins Financial Advisors says it provides customized wealth-management strategies. Its locations include Ithaca, Rochester, and Buffalo. Wealth advisors are also available by appointment at Tompkins Financial affiliate locations, including branches of Tompkins Trust Company, Tompkins Mahopac Bank, Tompkins Bank of Castile, Tompkins VIST Bank, and Tompkins Insurance Agencies.

Community Bank appoints Breed as commercial-banking team leader

Banks & Credit Unions, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Insurance & Financial Services, Subscriber Only

DeWITT, N.Y. — Community Bank N.A. announced it has promoted Thomas Breed to VP, team leader of commercial banking. In his new role, based in DeWitt, Breed will manage a team supporting a wide variety of commercial-banking customers in the Central New York region, including small businesses and middle-market firms. He and his team will

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NYCUA Recognition Awards honor Visions, Horizons, & SEFCU board chairman

Banks & Credit Unions, Insurance & Financial Services, New York News, Nonprofits, Regional News, Subscriber Only

ALBANY, N.Y. — Visions Federal Credit Union (FCU) and Horizons Federal Credit Union in Broome County and the chairman of the SEFCU board of directors were among those honored with NYCUA Recognition Awards. The awards were part of the New York Credit Union Association’s (NYCUA) virtual annual meeting and awards ceremony held June 24. Social

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The awards were part of the New York Credit Union Association’s (NYCUA) virtual annual meeting and awards ceremony held June 24.

Social Responsibility Community Service Award

NYCUA recognized Binghamton–based Horizons FCU with the Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award. Endwell–based Visions FCU was acknowledged with an honorable mention.

The Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award annually recognizes credit unions that “strengthen local institutions and materially improves the lives of non-members through community outreach programs,” as described in the NYCUA news release.

NYCUA honored Horizons FCU its Reaching Out program. The credit union worked to provide emotional and financial relief to members hit hard by COVID-19. Over the course of the year, Horizons fed over 1,500 meals to the community through food drives and collected school supplies and winter apparel for children in their local elementary schools.

Visions FCU secured an honorable mention for “displaying exceptional commitment” to the community and the credit union philosophy of “people helping people.”

Philosophy-in-Action Member Service Award

Besides its honorable mention in the social-responsibility category, Visions FCU won the Louise Herring Philosophy-in-Action Member Service Award.

That award recognizes a credit union for its “practical application” of credit-union philosophy within the actual operation of the credit union. It is awarded for internal programs and services that benefit membership.

NYCUA recognized Visions FCU for its “We Care Skip” program. Alongside other COVID-19 relief programs, Visions FCU instituted the program, which allowed qualified members to skip three months of eligible loans — “penalty free, no questions asked.” In total, the credit union allowed more than 28,000 skipped payments to members who were struggling financially.

Outstanding Volunteer Award

NYCUA also recognized Ron Rock — chairman of the board of directors of Albany–based SEFCU — with the Outstanding Volunteer Award.

That award recognizes volunteers who “exemplify commitment to their credit unions and consistently embody the ‘people helping people’ philosophy.”

With 358,905 members and $4.8 billion in assets at the end of 2020, SEFCU has grown its membership by 162 percent and assets by 277 percent since Rock’s tenure as chair of the SEFCU supervisory committee began 15 years ago, per the release.

But it was during the pandemic that Rock’s leadership “rose to new heights,” NYCUA said. Under his guidance, the credit union took “bold initiatives to make significant” differences in the lives of members, the community, and its employees.

During the pandemic, Rock also continued to focus the board on its work in expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, “developing progressive policies around board recruitment.”

Rock currently works at the Albany law firm of Brown & Weinraub, PLLC and he brings “extensive” financial experience to his position on the SEFCU board.

Hall of Fame induction

Besides the recognition awards, NYCUA also inducted all of New York state’s frontline credit-union employees into the New York Credit Union Hall of Fame, in what it described as an unprecedented move.

The Hall of Fame honors individuals who have devoted their lives to the philosophy and success of the credit-union movement, and who have made a significant impact on credit unions at the local, state, or national levels.

“There were many deserving credit union leaders eligible for the New York Credit Union Hall of Fame this year,” William Mellin, president and CEO of NYCUA, said. “But perhaps no one individual is as deserving of the title ‘Hall of Famer’ as the frontline credit union personnel who continued to show up for work each day and put their own health at risk, so that New Yorkers could access the financial support they needed most during the height of the pandemic.”

For more than 100 years, the New York Credit Union Association has served as the trade association for the state’s credit unions, which collectively hold more than $83 billion in assets and serve 5.9 million members.

CFCU Community Credit Union posthumously honors board member

Banks & Credit Unions, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Insurance & Financial Services, Nonprofits, Regional News, Subscriber Only

ITHACA, N.Y. — The CFCU Community Credit Union board of directors has voted to posthumously honor Joseph (Joe) During with the title of director emeritus. During is the first CFCU board member bestowed with the recognition, CFCU said in a June 29 news release. The title of director emeritus honors retiring board members who have

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KeyCorp net income jumps in Q2

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KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) reported that its net income in the second quarter jumped to $698 million, or 72 cents per share, from $159 million, or 16 cents, in the year-prior period, boosted primarily by strong growth in its fee-based businesses. KeyCorp — based in Cleveland, Ohio — is parent of KeyBank, which ranks No. 2 in deposit

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KeyCorp — based in Cleveland, Ohio — is parent of KeyBank, which ranks No. 2 in deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York region.

Key’s earnings per share this quarter easily beat the consensus analyst estimate of 55 cents, according to Zacks Equity Research.

The banking company generated total revenue of $1.77 billion in the second quarter, up more than 3 percent from the year-ago quarter. That topped the Zacks estimate of $1.73 billion.

Key’s noninterest income grew faster, up more than 8 percent year-over-year to $750 million. This was led by rising investment banking and debt-placement fees (up 39 percent), commercial-mortgage servicing fees, and credit card and payments income.

“The key to the quarter was growth,” Chris Gorman, chairman, CEO, and president of Cleveland, Ohio–based Key, says in a July 20 phone interview with CNYBJ. “Our investment-banking business continues to grow. We had the best second quarter ever and we had the second-best quarter ever in investment banking.”

Gorman says the growth extended to Key’s consumer-banking business as well.

“In the first six months of the year, we brought on more new households [as customers] than we have in any year in the last decade,” he says.

Key’s consumer loans increased by $2.4 billion, or 8.6 percent, from the year-ago period, reflecting strength from its Laurel Road digital-lending business unit and its consumer-mortgage business, partly offset by Key’s exit from the indirect auto-lending business.

Gorman says Laurel Road had produced “incredible growth” since KeyCorp acquired the small digital company in April 2019.

Key’s Central New York business

When asked about Key’s Central New York market business picture, Gorman says, “We often talk about the I-90 corridor as being one of the real strengths of Key. What’s interesting is Key was a significant player in Syracuse and in other places like Binghamton, Utica, and Carthage… even before we bought First Niagara in 2016. Then when we put Key and First Niagara together in 2016, all of those markets are very important to us and very strong markets for us, including Syracuse.”

Key has been ranked No. 2 in deposit market share in the Central New York region, behind M&T Bank, for a while now. When asked if Key is looking to get to No. 1, Gorman says, “We aspire to be No. 1 in every market we’re in.”

He says Key will continue to take a business approach to growth that it calls “targeted scale.”

“You won’t see us going out with sort of blanket marketing. What we’ll figure out is for example, what companies in the Syracuse area we can be particularly impactful for and we’ll focus on those companies,” he explains. “And then in a very targeted way, we’ll focus on consumers where we think we’re uniquely qualified to serve them.”

KeyCorp, which says its roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, has assets of $181 billion. KeyBank has more than 1,000 branches in 15 states.

Five Star Bank names regional presidents

Banks & Credit Unions, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Insurance & Financial Services, New York News, Regional News, Subscriber Only

WARSAW, N.Y. — Five Star Bank, a unit of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI) recently announced it has appointed regional bank presidents. The bank has named Craig Burton Finger Lakes/Southern Tier regional president, in addition to his role as commercial real-estate executive, according to a June 17 Five Star Bank news release. Burton continues to

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WARSAW, N.Y. — Five Star Bank, a unit of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI) recently announced it has appointed regional bank presidents.

The bank has named Craig Burton Finger Lakes/Southern Tier regional president, in addition to his role as commercial real-estate executive, according to a June 17 Five Star Bank news release. Burton continues to lead the bank’s commercial real-estate lending platform. As regional president, he provides commercial-business-line leadership by actively supporting customer and prospect development across all business lines. Burton also represents the bank in the community by participating in civic activities to support the community and foster a positive presence and reputation. Burton has more than 30 years of commercial mortgage and real-estate experience in upstate New York. He joined Five Star Bank in 2016, establishing and managing the bank’s commercial real-estate loan portfolio through a period of significant growth and expansion in construction and permanent financing and the establishment of tax-credit investing, affordable-housing financing, and interest-rate derivative platforms.

Five Star Bank has also appointed Alison Miller as commercial and industrial executive and Central New York regional president. In this role, Miller leads the bank’s commercial and industrial-lending platform and provides commercial-business-line leadership by actively supporting customer and prospect development across all business lines. She also represents Five Star in the community by participating in civic activities to support the community and promote a positive presence and reputation. Miller has more than 25 years of commercial-banking experience in Central New York. She joined Five Star Bank in 2018 as commercial-market executive, working from the bank’s Auburn branch office. Miller has effectively grown the bank’s commercial-loan portfolio in the region, according to the release. She received an MBA from Le Moyne College and executive-leadership certification from Cornell University.

Finally, Five Star Bank also named Patrick Keating commercial-market executive and Western New York regional president.

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