NORWICH – NBT Bancorp Inc. confirmed last week that the company declined to participate in the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, the largest part of the United States’ so-called $700 billion bailout plan.
NBT’s President and Chief Executive Officer Martin Deitrich said the Norwich-based bank received notification that the funds would be available in a an e-mail late last month from the Treasury, but after considering the proposal, chose not to take it.
Dietrich said in an interview Friday that the offer entailed “some direct and implicit” costs, would put limitations on some of the bank’s capital investment tools and was “open-ended.”
“We are honored that the Treasury and our regulators have chosen NBT Bancorp as an institution worthy of participation in the Treasury’s Captial Purchase Program under the Troubled Asset Relief Program,” said Dietrich in a press release. “Our company is currently well capitalized and meeting the lending needs of our customers. Given this and the requirements the program would impose on our business, we believe that our participation in the program would not be in the best interests of our shareholders.”