Update on First Niagara Merger With NewAlliance

First Niagara Financial Group FNFG provided an update today on its previously announced merger with NewAlliance Bancshares, Inc. NAL. "We continue to proceed on schedule with the shareholder and regulatory filing processes, as well as our leadership and workforce planning, all of which have been the focus of our efforts for the last 60 days since announcing the deal in August," President and Chief Executive Officer John R. Koelmel said. "The employee and in-market response has been tremendous and we're more excited than ever about the opportunity to provide customers and the region with the benefits of the success First Niagara and NewAlliance can achieve together in New England."