NORWICH – Two years after posting the highest earnings in the history of the company, NBT Bancorp Inc. has come close to matching those results.

“I am pleased to report that NBT achieved near-record results in 2010, including the second highest net income and earnings per share levels in the history of the company,” said NBT President and CEO Martin Dietrich.

According to a press statement issued by the Norwich-based financial holding company yesterday, net income for the year ending Dec. 31, 2010 was $57.4 million, up 10.4 percent or $5.4 million from 2009. The results are $1 million shy of the company’s record earnings in 2008. This corresponds to a diluted earnings per share of $1.66 for the year, compared to $1.53 per share for 2009. The results rank second only to the $1.80 per share achieved in 2008.

Net income for the three months ending Dec. 31 was $14.4 million, up 4.6 percent from the same quarter in 2009.

“While the economy and the financial services industry continued to face challenges in 2010, our team remained focused on aggressively managing our conservative banking strategy, as well as continued strategic investment and new market expansion to support future growth,” Dietrich stated.