CNB Financial Corp. of Clearfield, Pa., plans to expand into Erie next year by creating a separately branded unit of its $750 million-asset County National Bank.
Erie is Pennsylvania's third-largest city, with a population of 103,000, but it has just one locally based banking company, the $476 million-asset Marquette Savings Bank.
William F. Falger, CNB's president and chief executive, said in a press release Tuesday that the scarcity of hometown banks in Erie would give his company's operation there a leg up. CNB has hired a longtime Erie banker, David J. Zimmer, to run the unit, which would be named Erie Bank, and plans to create a local board of directors made up of Erie business owners.
"We believe there is tremendous potential for a new community bank in Erie driven by a strong focus on meeting the financial needs of businesses and individuals in the way only a community bank can deliver," Mr. Falger said.
CNB expects to open its first branch in Erie in April. In the meantime, Mr. Zimmer will operate a loan production office there out of an office on State Street.
