David R. Roefaro, Mayor

City of Utica, New York

                    Official Statement Concerning Standard Chartered

                                         March 27, 2008

I have recently been notified by representatives of Standard Chartered Bank that they have chosen Newark, New Jersey as their final destination. Standard Chartered officials explained that the deciding factor  for selecting Newark over Utica focused on their concern that a move to Utica would result in a nearly 100% attrition rate of SC employees, while a move to Newark would result in a 5% to 10% attrition rate.  By contrast, Standard Chartered felt that the Utica option was by far the superior option in terms of financial incentives and would produce a more favorable operating cost structure both short and long term for the company, but in the short term, minimizing potential disruption to bank operations was ultimately the top priority.

Though I am of course disappointed with their decision, I nevertheless understand that their concern over attrition was real, and in the end, was enough to outweigh the combined financial incentives put forth by Utica and its partners, Utica’s low cost environment, the strong work force that could be attracted for this facility, and a highly-coveted quality of life that would support the company’s long term requirements in attracting employees to the region

Standard Chartered’s interest in the City Center building lends credibility to downtown Utica as a destination for Banking and Insurance companies interested in a low-cost alternative to higher cost urban areas..  As such, the City of Utica and Mohawk Valley EDGE plan on taking the lessons we have learned from this  experience, redefining what it means to do business Downtown, and making a strong marketing push in high cost urban markets, which we feel would be interested in the same benefits of doing business here that Standard Chartered seriously considered..

Standard Chartered Bank explored more than a dozen communities for this back office operation. .  They viewed a number of sites and facilities, and received a variety of offers for financial incentives.  Though Utica presented the most competitive financial offer and one of the best sites, it was, in my opinion, not the most important impression that our region made to Standard Chartered Bank officials.

For me, the pride I felt when a representative of Standard Chartered Bank told me that we were “hands down, the warmest and most sincere community they had been to” is something that you can not put a price tag on.  It is an asset that we often times undervalue at our own expense, but, when you are dealing with people, it is the first and last thing that they take away after they visit your City, and it is something that we clearly have a wealth of.

I look forward to continuing my relationship with Mohawk Valley EDGE in anticipation of even greater opportunities for Downtown Utica.  I would like to officially thank representatives of Standard Chartered Bank for their time and consideration and I welcome the opportunity to work with them on any future opportunities that might cause them to revisit Utica as a potential location for banking operations.  I would also like to thank our region for the tremendous support that I received on this project.  Each and every representative of the private and public sector did everything in their power to make this a reality, and I thank each of them for their dedication to Downtown Utica, and to the entire region.

We may not have realized the victory that I firmly hoped and believed would happen but I remain confident that we are positioned to secure other opportunities that will surely come our way.

Submitted,

David R. Roefaro

Mayor

Any Questions: Angelo Roefaro 792.0100 or 534.0235