PENNSTAR BANK REGIONAL MANAGER FOR SUSQUEHANNA REGION TAKES TOP HONORS FOR 2009 PERFORMANCE

SCRANTON, PA (MARCH 15, 2010) – Robert Welch, regional manager of Pennstar Bank’s offices in Susquehanna County, was recently honored as Regional Manager of the Year.

NBT Bank, of which Pennstar Bank is a division, presented awards to branch management and staff for their sales and service efforts in 2009. Welch was selected from the regional managers overseeing NBT Bank’s 10 regions and more than 120 offices in New York and Pennsylvania. Welch has been a regional manager since 2000.

David Raven, president and chief executive officer of Pennstar Bank, said: “In 2009, the Susquehanna Region that Robert Welch oversees had triple-digit deposit growth and achieved the highest score in our customer satisfaction surveys. Robert is an excellent communicator who challenges his team to continually raise the bar in terms of performance.”

Pennstar Bank provides personal banking, asset management and business services. The independent community bank, based in Scranton, Pa., has 38 offices in six northeastern Pennsylvania counties. Pennstar Bank is a division of Norwich, N.Y.-based NBT Bank, which has 85 offices in upstate New York and one office in Burlington, Vt. Norwich, N.Y.-based NBT Bancorp Inc., the parent company of both banks, had assets of $5.5 billion as of December 31, 2009.