First Niagara Bank

This is the corporate headquarters of First Niagara Bank NA which is the retail banking arm of First Niagara Financial Group (nasdaq: FNFG). This bank has about $ 38 billion in assets according to the FDIC. First Niagara’s strongest presence is in upstate NY and PA but the total market footprint contains 400+ branches in NY, CT, PA and MA.
FN has experienced considerable growth in the past 5 years through a series of mergers/​acquisitions including National City (western PA) in 2009, Harleysville National (eastern PA) in 2009, New Alliance Bank (CT/​MA) in 2010, and HSBC (upstate NY market) in 2012. I would say the expansion has been great for the bank mostly however after buying HSBC’s upstate NY branches, Moody’s downgraded FN’s financial rating. Also if you look online, the HSBC transaction wasn’t so smooth for consumers. There were a lot of customer service hiccups such as former HSBC account holders being «stranded» with a First Niagara account without a branch anywhere near them (such as in NYC). However this should all be in First Niagara’s past at this point.
As far as public relations go, First Niagara has considerable presence for sports and entertainment event venues. They hold the naming rights to First Niagara Center (formerly HSBC Arena) in Buffalo NY home to the NHL. s Buffalo Sabres. They offer team branded debit cards for both the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins that carry a discount on purchases at their respective pro shops. They also hold the naming rights to First Niagara Pavilion on the PA/​WV border which is a 23,000 capacity amphitheater hosting major music tours and artists.
I’ve only had dealings with their retail banking division. I know nothing about their investment services, loans or risk management/​insurance division. Checking accounts are fairly straight forward. The fee schedule is not the friendliest. As with any bank, the less money you have, the higher the fees and the higher the risk of being subject to fees. The more assets/​deposits you have, the more money of yours they have to play with which makes them happy. Every checking and savings account they offer technically has a monthly fee but it is waived when you meet certain criteria. People at every income level will be able to have their checking account fee waived as long as a deposit (simple checking) or direct deposit (choice checking) is going into the account every month. If you qualify for an upper tier checking account, you have the additional perk of ATM surcharge rebates. MC Debit cards are issued immediately at the branch when you open an account or need a replacement. The savings account fee is waived as long as your checking balance never goes to zero or goes into overdraft. A la carte services like paper statements or check images are additional and steep if they are not included in your account tier. Their CD’s are garbage but every bank’s CD’s are and have been garbage for 10 years. The savings APY is better than a 2 year CD right now. While perusing their website, I was a little shocked to see that all their credit cards have a monthly fee unless it is bundled with the high end checking accounts. There are tons of institutions around that offer credit cards without any monthly fee so if that is all you were pursuing I would recommend going elsewhere. The bottom line is that you should read over their accounts thoroughly and carefully consider which one is the best fit for your financial situation.
I have patronized branches in three of the four states in their footprint. I have maintained accounts here for a few years and have never had a problem. Again, the fee schedule and account criteria are not as inviting as a smaller bank or credit union but they are doable for all income levels.
(P.S./Sidebar: Their debit cards are ugly — they are powder blue in color with a glittery sparkle. They look like Liberace had sex with Blanche from the Golden Girls and out popped a debit card.)