Five Star Bank Announces Lighting of Sign Ceremony at Five Star Bank Plaza

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 14, 2016 -- Five Star Bank (“Five Star” or the “Bank”), subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI), and Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren are pleased to announce the lighting of the Five Star Bank sign at the top of Five Star Bank Plaza in downtown Rochester, New York. A ceremony to mark this occasion will be held today from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park at Manhattan Square, directly across the street from Five Star Bank Plaza located at 100 Chestnut Street.

The ceremony is open to the public and will take place outdoors. Executives and members of the Board of Directors from Five Star Bank, Mayor Warren and City Council President Loretta Scott will attend.

Five Star Bank Plaza will include the Bank’s second financial solutions center in the City of Rochester, opening in mid-December. The financial solution center concept accommodates a wide spectrum of customer needs and preferences with no teller lines, no barriers between bank associates and customers, and hands-on technical support, resulting in a high level of personalized banking.

During the first quarter of 2017, the Bank will relocate its regional administrative center to Five Star Bank Plaza bringing approximately 150 commercial and retail lending, marketing, finance, technology, and administrative employees from its current office in Pittsford. The location will also allow the bank to leverage redundant infrastructure to support its expanding technology initiatives. Five Star signed a ten-year lease for approximately 54,000 square feet of leasable space in the building, including the ground-floor financial solution center space. The Bank’s headquarters, with approximately 120 employees, will remain in Warsaw, New York, where significant administrative and board functions will continue.

“We are transforming the Rochester City skyline with the lighting of the Five Star Bank sign today,” stated Martin K. Birmingham, President and Chief Executive Officer of Five Star. “This is a terrific location for our employees and our presence will help fuel the momentum of Rochester’s downtown revitalization. We are looking forward to bringing our ‘Made for You’ brand of banking to downtown Rochester.”

“Five Star Bank has already made a mark on our community by reaching out into our neighborhoods and creating new jobs,” Mayor Lovely Warren said. “They believe in this city, so much so that they’re becoming a permanent fixture on our skyline. Their investment in Rochester is helping us create even more jobs, safer and more vibrant neighborhoods and better educational opportunities, so I would like to thank them for being a part of our community.”

Randy Benderson, CEO of Benderson Development Company, commented, “Five Star's decision is gratifying on several levels. First, relationships are important to us and they are people you enjoy doing business with. Second, the addition of their workforce will greatly enhance the vitality of the central business district. Finally, not only adding the branch bank to serve the community but also bringing their employees to our building will enliven what has always been a jewel in our upstate portfolio. We are proud to call it Five Star Bank Plaza!" 

About Five Star Bank
Five Star Bank provides a wide range of consumer and commercial banking services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses through a network of more than 50 offices and 60 ATMs throughout Western and Central New York State. More information on Five Star Bank is available through the company’s website at www.five-starbank.com, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Five Star Bank is a subsidiary of Financial Institutions, Inc. (“FII”), a publicly-traded company. FII provides diversified financial services through its subsidiaries Five Star Bank, Scott Danahy Naylon and Courier Capital. FII and its subsidiaries employ approximately 700 individuals. The company’s stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol FISI. Additional information is available on the company’s website: www.fiiwarsaw.com.

Contact:
Shelly J. Doran
(585) 627-1362 or [email protected]

City of Rochester Contact:
Donald Starver
(585) 428-6064