First Niagara Financial Group Inc. has completed its acquisition of NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. of New Haven, Conn.
The Buffalo, N.Y., company said that the $1.5 billion purchase created a bank with over $30 billion of assets and $18 billion of deposits in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York.
First Niagara said three of NewAlliance's directors Roxanne Coady, Carlton Highsmith and Nathaniel Woodson had joined its board. The closing was announced late Friday.
The 2.0 version, expected to launch next year, will provide more detailed responses based on more complex, humanlike thought processes.
The breach, which occurred earlier in November, did not directly impact customer operations, but a threat actor stole data meant for customers.
The North Carolina-based bank rolled out a multiyear program to provide loans, investments and philanthropic support to communities in the western part of the state.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra said the FICO credit-scoring model has drawbacks in price, predictiveness and market competition, and stakeholders should develop a more open-sourced model that uses artificial intelligence.
Analysts say lenders' shares could rally on deregulation, lighter tax burdens and a resurgence of M&A. Declining interest rates and lower loan losses could further bolster bottom lines and attract investor interest.
The contract gives the nation's oldest bank access to more than $3 billion in deposits a month. Comerica, the current administrator, has received a three-year extension of service to help with the transfer.
