First Niagara Survey Shows More Upstate NY Business Leaders Optimistic Than Pessimistic About 2012

Feb. 1, 2012 - PRLog -- More Upstate New York private business leaders expect business conditions to get better in New York State in 2012 than those who predict they will worsen as executives continue to cautiously operate their companies within the "new normal" created by the recession of 2008-09, according to First Niagara's Fifth Annual Survey of Upstate New York Business Leaders released today.

Survey findings indicate they will also proceed with caution based on forecasts for revenues, profitability, workforce size, and fixed asset acquisitions that mirror levels predicted for 2011.

"The good news is that many business leaders continue to express more favorable expectations for their business operations and overall business conditions compared to where they were two and three years ago," said Peter Cosgrove, Upstate New York regional president for First Niagara Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Niagara Financial Group (Nasdaq- FNFG - News). "With a focus on business stability, these company leaders are telling us 2012 may look more like 2011 and that conditions point to a less than robust economic recovery."

Responding to the survey conducted by the Siena College Research Institute were 636 leaders of private businesses with $5 million to $150 million in annual sales.

Results are available at https://www.fnfg.com/CEOSurvey.