While KeyCorp and First Niagara share overlapping operations that will strengthen the former’s revenue base, KeyCorp did not quantify the top-line benefit.
Advertisement
KeyBank on Thursday said it would work with Gov. Andrew Cuomo to address his concerns about its purchase of First Niagara Financial Group, a day after Cuomo said he opposed the merger and was lobbying to kill it.
Image: Andrew M. Cuomo is the 56th Governor of NY. Cuomo fired off a letter Wednesday urging federal regulators to reject the $4.1 billion deal which would create the nation’s 13th largest commercial bank. Reuters reported that financial experts projected its annual savings, which is about $400 million. KeyCorp will then have an estimated $135 billion of assets, $99.8 billion of deposits and 1,366 branches in the US.
Cuomo sent his letter to Scott Alvarez, general counsel of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors; Amy Friend, senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel for the Comptroller of the Currency; and Jeffrey Martino, chief of the antitrust division in the U.S. Department of Justice’s NY office. He also wrote that the merging would most probably force many people to rely on costly alternatives, which includes check-cashing providers and payday lenders.
KeyCorp and First Niagara employ around 2,000 workers in the Albany area.
Cuomo, in a strongly worded letter dated Wednesday, said the deal “raises significant anti-trust concerns that, if allowed to proceed, will have a devastating impact on the retail banking industry and consumer access in upstate ny”.
Advertisement
KeyCorp hopes to complete its acquisition of First Niagara in the third quarter, but first needs the approval of shareholders and regulators.
