By Paul Post
Arrow Bank’s newly rebranded name is taking aim at greater Capital Region market share.
The moniker replaces Glens Falls National Bank & Trust Company and its affiliate, Saratoga National Bank & Trust Company, which have operated together since the latter’s company’s formation in 1988.
The newly-named Arrow Bank is a subsidiary of Glens Falls-based Arrow Financial Corporation.
“We’ve been successful with the two brands, but in some instances the name has held us back a little bit,” said David S. DeMarco, corporation president and CEO. “If you go into a new market and you’re a strong company that’s got the name Arrow Bank it should be well perceived versus, ‘Wait a minute, I thought your bank was in Saratoga or Glens Falls.’ ”
“We have a very small market share in the Capital Region,” he said. “That’s really where our growth will be. That’s our target.”
A crowd of company officials and well-wishers recently gathered outside Glens Falls offices to celebrate the new designation, which took effect January 1.
The leadership team is unchanged, ensuring stability and continuity and customers can continue to use all of the bank’s 38 branch locations from Albany to the Canadian border. Staffing for the bank’s 550 employees will not be affected.
“The big message to customers is that nothing’s really changing, but the name,” DeMarco said. “When I ask customers, Why do you do business with us, inevitably everyone says because of the people. We’re a people business. In this instance, the people, the buildings, products and services aren’t changing. Literally, the only thing people are going to see is the name change.”
“We came to the conclusion a couple years ago that it’s going to really help us from an operating efficiency standpoint to have one company,” he said. “We’ll no longer have to have two sets of marketing materials or financial statements and it will really help from an accounting and finance standpoint, even with our loans and deposits.”
Glens Falls National Bank was founded in 1851.
Arrow Financial Corporation is a publicly traded company with an asset size of approximately $4.4 billion.
Last August, the company acquired a Berkshire Bank branch office in Whitehall, filling a gap in the Washington County market.
During the past decade six branches have been opened in the immediate Capital Region in places such as Troy, Schenectady, Rotterdam and Colonie.
DeMarco said Arrow Bank sees opportunities to expand to Rensselaer and Columbia counties, the Hudson Valley and perhaps even western Vermont and Massachusetts.
“We can’t go too far, but western markets that touch ours are certainly possibilities,” he said. “We believe our biggest strength is our commitment to the communities we serve. When we’ve gone into a new market we’ve really emphasized and show how we give back and support the community. A community bank is only as strong as its community.”
“Our people are going to be involved,” he said. “Financially we’re going to support the community. We’re a true community bank.”
Previously, Saratoga National Bank had advertised itself as “The Thoroughbred of Banks.”
Plans call for rolling out a new Arrow Bank marketing campaign that will cover the company’s entire territory in coming weeks, DeMarco said.