Money Magazine Selects First Niagara as Best Regional Bank Headquartered in Northeast


BUFFALO, N.Y., Oct. 28, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MONEY Magazine has named First Niagara Group (NASDAQ:FNFG) the best bank in the Northeast in its just-released "Best Banks in America 2015-2016" rankings.

In achieving the top ranking, MONEY cited First Niagara's Pinnacle Plus Checking, emphasizing the wallet-friendly feature of allowing customers to avoid fees when using ATMs in the U.S. and Canada.

MONEY selected the Best Banks in America after surveying "the 50 largest brick-and-mortar banks and the 25 largest online banks by consumer deposits." The national personal finance publication asked banks to verify information about account terms, ATM networks, branch hours, mobile-app features, and other perks. MONEY then chose the best banks "based largely on maintenance fees and ease of waiving them, ATM fees, and checking account yields; savings account yields, preferential loan terms, ATM-fee reimbursements, and geographic reach were considered tiebreakers." Full coverage of MONEY's Best Banks in America survey is available at http://time.com/money/4079923/best-regional-banks-northeast-first-niagara-2015/?xid=tcoshare.

"We have made a company-wide commitment to customer service that makes banking with First Niagara fast, easy, simple and secure," said Mark Rendulic, Head of Consumer Financial Services. "We place our customers and their needs first, in everything we do. This ranking marks the latest recognition of the investments we've made to enhance the customer experience, as well as our on-going efforts to position First Niagara as a leader in the banking industry."

Earlier this year, customers ranked First Niagara in the top 5 of American Banker and the Reputation Institute's U.S. Bank Reputation Survey. And in a recent J.D. Power Survey, 92% of First Niagara's branch customers said that they would be "likely advocates" of First Niagara as a banking partner to their friends and family – a result that puts First Niagara among top financial institutions with best-in-class customer experience.

First Niagara is the only 2015-16 MONEY Magazine Best Bank that is headquartered in Upstate New York or any one of the company's seven regional markets in the Northeast United States: Western New York, Central New York, Eastern New York, Tri-State, Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Pennsylvania and New England.

About First Niagara

First Niagara, through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Niagara Bank, N.A., is a multi-state community-oriented bank with approximately 390 branches, $39 billion in assets, $29 billion in deposits, and approximately 5,400 employees providing financial services to individuals, families and businesses across New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. For additional information on First Niagara, visit us at www.firstniagara.com, follow us on Twitter @FirstNiagara, or like us on Facebook at FirstNiagaraBank.


            

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