KeyBank, in the process of purchasing First
\nNiagara Financial Group announced in December
\nit plans to keep mortgage operations in Buffalo
\nwhere First Niagara Bank is based.<\/p>\n
KeyBank, a wholly owned subsidiary of KeyCorp, with various offices in Saratoga County,
\nsaid it will leverage and expand First Niagara
\nBank’s mortgage capabilities as it completes
\nFirst Niagara’s merger into Key.<\/p>\n
Officials said that although it is too soon to
\nknow exactly how many jobs the Buffalo mortgage
\noperations will entail, it is anticipated that
\ninitially approximately 300 employees will be
\nneeded to ensure all functions are covered.<\/p>\n
KeyCorp and First Niagara Financial Group
\nannounced on Oct. 30, 2015, an agreement for
\nKey to purchase the Buffalo-based bank, subject
\nto shareholder and regulatory approvals. Key
\nrecently announced a plan to bring its currently
\noutsourced mortgage fulfillment operations into
\nthe organization. The scope of the project will
\nnow leverage First Niagara’s servicing platform
\nsystems and expertise after the merger occurs.<\/p>\n
\nCurrently, mortgage origination — application
\nand product determination — is handled
\nby KeyBank Mortgage loan officers located
\nthroughout KeyBank's 12-state footprint, as well
\nas through a centralized telemortgage team,
\nwhile underwriting, fulfillment and portfolio
\nmanagement functions are managed and serviced
\nby an outsourced provider, PHH Mortgage,
\nthe company said.<\/p>\n
KeyBank officials said the company plans to
\nbuild underwriting, fulfillment and portfolio
\nmanagement platforms to support mortgage
\nloan origination. Additionally, in connection
\nwith the merger, KeyBank will bring residential
\nloan servicing in-house through First Niagara
\nBank's existing residential loan servicing unit.
\nKey plans to utilize First Niagara Bank's New
\nHaven, Conn.-based mortgage fulfillment group
\nas well.<\/p>\n
KeyBank's target date for a pilot on new platforms
\nis June, with a full launch sometime in the
\nfourth quarter 2016.<\/p>\n
"Buying a home is typically one of the biggest
\ninvestments most people make," said Beth
\nMooney, chairman, president and CEO, KeyCorp.
\n"Key's ability to own the client experience and
\nthe mortgage origination process will benefit
\nclients as well as strengthen our ability to expand
\nclient relationships. When clients have all of their
\nproducts or services with us, we can better know
\nand serve them. This is relationship banking."<\/p>\n
First Niagara does not outsource any component
\nof its residential mortgage origination
\nor servicing.<\/p>\n
Decisions on organization structure and
\nleadership appointments will be made a later
\ndate, officials said.<\/p>\n
"We are excited to make this first announcement
\nas we plan to leverage each organization's
\nexisting capabilities after the merger," said Chris
\nGorman, president, Key Corporate Bank, who
\nleads the merger integration team, comprising
\nboth KeyCorp and First Niagara team members.
\n"As KeyBank looks to combine companies, retaining
\nthe knowledge and experience of those
\nemployees within First Niagara's operations is
\ncritical, and expanding our footprint will provide
\njob opportunities in both fulfillment and
\nservicing to support the additional transactional
\nvolume."<\/p>\n
KeyCorp was organized more than 180 years
\nago and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Key
\nhad assets of approximately $95.4 billion at Sept.
\n30. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management
\nand investment services to individuals
\nand small and mid-sized businesses in 12 states
\nunder the name KeyBank National Association.<\/p>\n
First Niagara, through its wholly owned subsidiary,
\nFirst Niagara Bank, N.A., is a multi-state
\ncommunity-oriented bank with approximately
\n390 branches, $39 billion in assets, $29 billion
\nin deposits, and approximately 5,400 employees
\nproviding financial services to individuals, families
\nand businesses across New York, Pennsylvania,
\nConnecticut and Massachusetts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KeyBank, in the process of purchasing First Niagara Financial Group announced in December it plans to keep mortgage operations in Buffalo where First Niagara Bank is based. KeyBank, a wholly owned subsidiary of KeyCorp, with various offices in Saratoga…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\n