NBT Bancorp announces merger with Evans Bancorp in western New York

NBT Bancorp, Inc. and Evans Bancorp, Inc., have announced plans to merge Evans, a western New York bank, into NBT.
The announcement was made after the close of the market on Monday, Sept. 9.

Evans, which is headquartered in Williamsville, New York, in Erie County had assets of $2.2 billion as of June 30 with 18 locations in the Buffalo and Rochester markets. NBT’s assets as of June 30 totaled $13.5 billion, and the bank has 154 locations in seven Northeastern states.

“The combined organization will have the highest deposit market share in Upstate New York for any bank with assets under $100 billion and will result in a network of over 170 locations from Buffalo, New York, to Portland, Maine,” the two banks said in a statement.

NBT President and Chief Executive Officer Scott A. Kingsley said, “Adding the greater Buffalo and Rochester communities to the markets served by NBT is a natural geographic extension of our footprint in Upstate New York where we have been very active and successful for nearly 170 years.”

In August 2023, NBT completed a merger with Salisbury Bank and Trust. The merger ended an almost 100-year era for the Salisbury Bank and Trust nameplate. In 1925, the Salisbury Savings Society, dating to 1848 in Lakeville, Connecticut, merged with the Robbins Burrall Trust Co. to form SBT.

NBT’s primary subsidiary, NBT Bank, has 107 locations in Upstate New York, stretching west to east from Syracuse to the Capital District and north to south from Plattsburgh to Binghamton and the Hudson Valley.

According to a statement from both banks, NBT will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Evans in exchange for common shares of NBT. The exchange ratio will be fixed at 0.91 NBT shares for each share of Evans, resulting in an aggregate transaction value of approximately $236 million based on NBT’s closing stock price of $46.28 on September 6, 2024. The merger was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.

“We are very excited to be joining the NBT family and bringing the next generation of community banking to Buffalo, Rochester and the Finger Lakes,” said David J. Nasca, Evans President and Chief Executive Officer.

The merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval by the shareholders of Evans and the receipt of required regulatory approvals.