HSBC Flight Leaving Some Customers Wondering What Happened

   For decades HSBC and before that Marine Midland was a big player in NNY banking.....Whomever the bank president was, they were a big deal...Now that HSBC is pulling out of upstate, many of the familiar faces have bailed out to other jobs and those left are patiently answering the queries of customers caught in a confusing dance of different banks acquiring different branches and some not knowing where their money is.
   First Niagara took branches in Evans Mills and Carthage while Community later this summer will take the other local offices.

Sorry Sir, You'll Have to Go to Evans Mills...Just Take Route 11....

   All the credit cards went to Niagara.  I still do some of my business at HSBC, but every day there is somebody in line trying to understand why they live in Watertown and have to go to Evans Mills to do banking.
    People fret over direct deposits and granted many of them are older customers not anxious for change.
     One fellow called me the other day as he was getting a new job and didn't know where to have the direct deposit routed. This morning I watched tellers patiently helping a senior whose direct deposit wasn't where it was suppose to be, as some payers assumed all customers went to Niagara, while in NNY only a few do.
     To their credit, the remaining staff is patiently trying to help people, and most transitions surely went well.  However HSBC's retreat to more profitable big market banking did leave many long time customers scratching their heads and worried.
     There's more confusion next month when the other branches are taken over by Community. There are a lot fewer people in these banks in recent months, surely because many decided to switch to the known rather than deal with the unknown.
First Niagara: HSBC acquisition had some bumps, but things are smoothing out | syracuse.com