Alliance, NBT Bank Announce That Richard Shirtz Will Serve As Regional President

SYRACUSE, N.Y. and NORWICH, N.Y., Oct. 18, 2012

Shirtz, who will continue to be based in Syracuse, is currently senior vice president and manager of the commercial banking group at Alliance. He has more than 30 years of banking experience. Prior to joining Alliance in 2009, he served as district president and senior vice president of commercial banking for Citizens Bank and, before that, senior vice president and relationship team manager for KeyBank.

"Since joining our organization, Rick Shirtz has been a significant contributor to the success of Alliance," said Webb. "I look forward to continuing to work with him as a part of the NBT Bank team to deliver the highly personalized and responsive community banking that has been the hallmark of Alliance's success." As earlier announced, Webb will join NBT's Executive Management Team as Executive Vice President, Strategic Support, and will join the NBT Bancorp Board of Directors upon completion of the merger.

As Syracuse regional president for NBT Bank, Shirtz will have responsibility for its commercial banking business and geographic oversight of all other area business units. "We're pleased to have Rick Shirtz taking on this important role," commented Dietrich. "Rick's extensive banking experience and knowledge of Alliance customers and the Syracuse, Oswego, Oneida and Cortland markets position him to successfully lead our efforts and build upon the strong foundation created by Alliance Bank."

A life-long resident of Syracuse, Shirtz is actively involved in the community and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Home Headquarters and The First Tee of Syracuse. He is also a member of the Syracuse Roman Catholic Diocese Investment Committee and the CenterState CEO Partners Advisory Committee. Shirtz holds a bachelor's degree from LeMoyne College and an MBA from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. He also completed graduate studies in bank management at the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

NBT Bank offers personal banking, asset management and business services through a network of 137 banking locations in 5 states. NBT Bank operates from 97 locations in upstate New York, northwestern Vermont and western Massachusetts. NBT's Pennstar Bank division operates from 35 locations in northeastern Pennsylvania, and its Hampshire First Bank division operates from 5 locations in southern New Hampshire. NBT Bank and its parent company, NBT  Bancorp Inc., are headquartered in Norwich, N.Y. NBT Bancorp Inc. had assets of $6.0 billion as of June 30, 2012, and is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol NBTB.

Alliance Bank, N.A. offers retail, commercial and municipal banking services and trust and investment services through 28 offices in Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego counties.  Alliance Bank and its parent company, Alliance Financial Corporation, are headquartered in Syracuse, N.Y. Alliance Financial Corporation has assets of $1.4 billion as of June 30, 2012, and is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol ALNC.