NexTier Bank to open first branch in Buffalo area

NexTier Bank plans to open a branch in Williamsville as part of a new development at 5877 Main St. The bank is headquartered in Butler, north of Pittsburgh.

NexTier also plans to open a branch in Rochester, as the bank expands its retail banking presence from Pennsylvania into New York state.

“NexTier Bank is enthusiastic about the opportunity to extend our banking franchise into the Buffalo and Rochester, New York markets,” said Clem Rosenberger, NexTier Bank’s president and CEO.

The bank has not yet set a date for opening the Williamsville branch, said Natalie Cotherman, a spokeswoman for NexTier.

NexTier has 31 locations in Western Pennsylvania. As of mid February, the bank had $2.35 billion in deposits and $2.74 billion in assets.

NexTier recently completed a deal to acquire Pennsylvania-based Mars Bancorp.

NexTier will enter a market dominated by M&T Bank and KeyBank, and a number of other competitors.

In 2010, the parent of Northwest Bank struck a deal to acquire NexTier Inc. for $20.3 million. But Northwest ended up canceling the deal, saying it did not expect to receive approval from its primary federal regulator.

As NexTier prepares to open a branch in the Buffalo area, Chemung Canal Trust has also announced plans to open its first full-service branch in the Buffalo market, at 5529 Main St. in Williamsville. Chemung Canal Trust already has a loan production office in the region.