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First Niagara buys 195 HSBC branches


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You mean The First Niagara Tower?

 

I doubt FN would occupy that tower unless the need more back office space (HSBC doesn't own that building, they're just tenants). The big question right now for downtown is will HSBC continue to leverage lower cost resources to support their infrastructure in Buffalo. I'm hoping they do because if they decide to move those remaining jobs out of the area it will be bad for the city on many levels.

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I doubt FN would occupy that tower unless the need more back office space (HSBC doesn't own that building, they're just tenants). The big question right now for downtown is will HSBC continue to leverage lower cost resources to support their infrastructure in Buffalo. I'm hoping they do because if they decide to move those remaining jobs out of the area it will be bad for the city on many levels.

Unfortunately, there's not much need for HSBC branch operations support staff without a branch network. It remains to be seen how many new back office jobs First Niagara will create to support the 195 branches--probably a net loss in headcount overall.

 

And as usual, the FNFG shareholders take it in the shorts with more dilution.

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I can't believe how big FN has got in such a short time:

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/business/article507598.ece

 

"First Niagara Arena" does have a nice ring to it...

 

But yea, FN has been expanding rapidly. They snagged a Philly-area bank at a fire sale a couple months ago; kinda nice to see a Buffalo operation being the hunter instead of the hunted.

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Unfortunately, there's not much need for HSBC branch operations support staff without a branch network. It remains to be seen how many new back office jobs First Niagara will create to support the 195 branches--probably a net loss in headcount overall.

 

And as usual, the FNFG shareholders take it in the shorts with more dilution.

 

Their local staff does quite a bit more than NYS branches. Some global services are run out of the tower. Some US and Canada stuff too that is unrelated to branches.

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"First Niagara Arena" does have a nice ring to it...

 

That's actually a really good point that I didn't think of when I initially saw the article. I wonder if they packaged the naming deal to the arena. It would make sense given that they are pulling out of the market, but on the other hand, that deal was signed years ago during the Marine Midland years and is likely cheaper than many other forms of advertising in 2011.

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Their local staff does quite a bit more than NYS branches. Some global services are run out of the tower. Some US and Canada stuff too that is unrelated to branches.

Agreed. But there's likely several hundered branch support positions for retail, small business, etc. that may now be in play.

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/business/article508056.ece

 

And trying to serve the commercial segment without a branch network is whistling in the wind, IMO...

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I doubt FN would occupy that tower unless the need more back office space (HSBC doesn't own that building, they're just tenants). The big question right now for downtown is will HSBC continue to leverage lower cost resources to support their infrastructure in Buffalo. I'm hoping they do because if they decide to move those remaining jobs out of the area it will be bad for the city on many levels.

 

HSBC to cut 30,000 jobs:

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-01/hsbc-to-cut-25-000-more-jobs-by-2013.html

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Doubful, before the regulators/DOJ weigh in and First Niagara decides on the 100 offices they're going to divest...

I have to agree. I have a bit of an insider's knowledge of the local banking industry... at least 100 of these branches will be closed. I see a lot of local backlash on the horizon for First Niagara when they are the ones closing these branches and killing 100s of jobs. Be clear, whoever bought them would have had to do the same thing, but First Niagara is going to be the heavy here.

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I have to agree. I have a bit of an insider's knowledge of the local banking industry... at least 100 of these branches will be closed. I see a lot of local backlash on the horizon for First Niagara when they are the ones closing these branches and killing 100s of jobs. Be clear, whoever bought them would have had to do the same thing, but First Niagara is going to be the heavy here.

They're on record as saying they'll only close about one-third of the 100 offices, so the fallout shouldn't be too bad. But finding buyers for the other 70--and navigating them through the transition to yet another owner--will be challenging.

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