Seneca Savings has tapped Cetera to be its third-party broker-dealer.
The upstate New York community bank is looking to the firm to help it expand its investment offerings and wealth management services, Cetera said in an announcement on Thursday.
The bank had previously used Leigh Baldwin & Co, an investment advisory and brokerage firm in Cazenovia, N.Y., to provide investment services to customers.
"By joining with Cetera Financial Institutions, Seneca can now offer its clients a far more extensive mix of investment solutions than it previously could make available as well as an enhanced range of quality investment-related services," Catherine Bonneau, CEO of Cetera Financial Institutions, said in a statement.
The bank also wanted to ramp up its technology and reporting capabilities and back-office support systems. "The new relationship will not only improve our customer experience but we expect it will also result in better business analysis and generate meaningful new revenues for Seneca both from within our current customer base and from new customers as well," Joseph Vitale, the bank's president and CEO, said in a statement.
Seneca Savings' wealth management subsidiary, Financial Quest, has two advisers who manage roughly $70 million in client assets, according to Cetera. It is working to grow the number of advisers with enhanced recruitment efforts, Cetera said.
The bank has had an investment services program since 1982. It currently offers a range of products and services, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, alternative investments and annuities as well as retirement planning.
The bank, which is based in Baldwinsville, N.Y., has more than $148 million in assets. It has additional locations in North Syracuse and Liverpool, N.Y.
