About NexTier Bank: Western Pennsylvania Community Banking Since 1934

Q: When was NexTier Bank founded?

NexTier Bank traces its roots to 1934 when it was established as Butler Savings Bank in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Over nine decades of continuous operation, the institution grew through organic expansion and community-focused mergers, rebranding as NexTier Bank to reflect its broader Western Pennsylvania footprint across Butler, Armstrong, Indiana and Allegheny counties.

Q: How many branches does NexTier Bank operate?

NexTier Bank operates 18 full-service branch locations across four Western Pennsylvania counties: 7 in Butler County, 4 in Armstrong County, 3 in Indiana County and 4 in Allegheny County. All branches include drive-through service, 24/7 ATM access and safe deposit box availability.

Q: Is NexTier Bank FDIC insured?

Yes. NexTier Bank is a member FDIC institution regulated by the FDIC and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities. All deposit accounts are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category. The bank's NMLS number is 407872.

Q: What is NexTier Bank's total asset size?

As of year-end 2025, NexTier Bank holds approximately $1.8 billion in total assets under management. This growth reflects nine decades of steady, conservative community banking focused on Western Pennsylvania households and businesses.

Q: Who leads NexTier Bank?

NexTier Bank is governed by a board of directors composed of Western Pennsylvania business leaders, professionals and community members. The executive leadership team includes the President and CEO, CFO, Chief Credit Officer, Chief Technology Officer and regional market leaders overseeing Butler, Armstrong, Indiana and Allegheny county operations.

NexTier Bank has served Western Pennsylvania families, small businesses and municipalities since 1934, when it opened as Butler Savings Bank in the heart of Butler County. Over nine decades, the institution has grown into an 18-branch community bank managing approximately $1.8 billion in assets across Butler, Armstrong, Indiana and Allegheny counties. We are not a subsidiary of a Charlotte or New York holding company. Every lending decision is made by bankers who live in the communities they serve, and every deposit stays in Western Pennsylvania. That is not a marketing slogan — it is our charter and our operating reality.

NexTier Bank headquarters building in Butler County Pennsylvania reflecting the community bank regional identity

1934: The Founding as Butler Savings Bank

NexTier Bank was established in 1934 as Butler Savings Bank during one of the most challenging periods in American financial history. While the Great Depression shuttered banks across the country, a group of Butler County civic leaders pooled capital to create a savings institution that would serve steelworkers, small merchants and farming families who had lost faith in the banking system. The original office opened on Main Street in Butler, Pennsylvania, with $180,000 in initial deposits — modest by any standard, but a powerful act of community confidence at a time when confidence was the scarcest commodity in America.

Those early years established principles that still govern the institution today: conservative underwriting, local decision-making, and a commitment to lending in the communities where deposits originate. The founders understood something that Wall Street would spend the next century forgetting — a bank exists to serve its neighbours, not to generate quarterly returns for distant shareholders.

Historical photograph of original Butler Savings Bank building on Main Street Butler Pennsylvania circa 1934

Map showing NexTier Bank branch expansion across Butler Armstrong Indiana and Allegheny counties in Western Pennsylvania

1960s–2000s: Expansion Across Western Pennsylvania

Through the post-war decades, Butler Savings grew alongside the region's steel, glass and manufacturing economy. New branches opened in Chicora, Saxonburg and Prospect as Butler County's population pushed outward from the city centre. By the 1970s, the bank had expanded into Armstrong County, recognising that Kittanning and Ford City residents needed a community banking alternative to the regional chains that were consolidating across the state.

The 1980s and 1990s brought Indiana County into the footprint, followed by strategic expansion into northern Allegheny County in the early 2000s. Through every economic cycle — the steel industry collapse, the savings and loan crisis, the 2008 financial meltdown — the bank posted positive earnings and maintained capital ratios well above FDIC minimums. While 465 banks failed nationally between 2008 and 2012, this institution was opening branches and hiring loan officers.

The NexTier Bank Era: Modern Platform, Same Values

The rebrand to NexTier Bank reflected the institution's evolution from a single-county savings bank into a multi-county community banking platform. The name signalled the next tier of capability — online banking, mobile deposit, treasury management, SBA lending — while preserving the relationship-driven model that had sustained the institution for decades. Today, NexTier Bank manages $1.8 billion in assets, operates 18 full-service branches and employs over 300 Western Pennsylvanians.

The digital transformation accelerated through the 2010s and 2020s. NexTier Bank launched its mobile app, remote deposit capture, Zelle integration and real-time account alerts. But digital did not replace personal. Every branch still operates with a full-service lobby. You can still walk in without an appointment, sit across from a banker who has authority to approve your loan, and leave with a decision. That balance between technology and human judgment is deliberate, and it is why our client retention rate exceeds 93%.

Customer using NexTier Bank mobile banking app for remote check deposit in Western Pennsylvania

Local Decision-Making

Every credit decision at NexTier Bank is made by officers who live in Western Pennsylvania. Our Butler County loan committee meets in Butler. Our Armstrong County officers sit in Kittanning. No loan file travels to an out-of-state approval desk, and no algorithm overrides the judgment of a banker who has driven past the collateral property on the way to work. When you need an answer on a $1.5 million commercial line, your banker does not submit a ticket to a regional hub. They walk down the hall, present your case, and call you back the same day.

Conservative Risk Management

NexTier Bank maintains a Tier 1 capital ratio consistently above 10.5%, well ahead of regulatory minimums. Our loan loss reserves exceed 1.3% of total loans — nearly double the provision held by the average Pennsylvania community bank. We do not chase yield with exotic instruments. We lend against tangible collateral, verify cash flow, and build in margin for economic downturns. The 2008 crisis validated this approach: zero loan losses above projected reserves. Boring works. Our depositors sleep well because of it.

Community Reinvestment

In 2025, NexTier Bank directed $1.2 million to community development projects across our footprint: affordable housing in Butler, small business microloans in Kittanning, financial literacy programmes in Indiana County school districts, and scholarships through the Butler County Community College Foundation. Our CRA rating has been "Outstanding" for three consecutive examination cycles. We do not write cheques for photo opportunities. We fund programmes that move needles in counties where the needles need moving most.

Board of Directors

The NexTier Bank board comprises independent directors drawn from Western Pennsylvania manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, energy and professional services. Board governance requires geographic representation from each of the four counties in our footprint. The board meets monthly — not quarterly — and every director participates in at least one loan review committee. This is not a rubber-stamp board. They read every significant credit file, challenge assumptions, and hold management accountable to the conservative growth model that has defined this institution since 1934.

The board also oversees our compliance programme, which includes BSA/AML monitoring, fair lending analysis, and cybersecurity governance. As a state-chartered institution supervised by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, NexTier Bank undergoes annual safety and soundness examinations in addition to FDIC oversight.

Executive Team

Day-to-day operations are led by the executive leadership team: President and CEO, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Credit Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Risk Officer. Four of the five executives have been with NexTier Bank or its predecessor institutions for more than a decade. The CEO rose through the ranks from a commercial lender role — the kind of internal promotion path that national banks abandoned long ago.

Our Senior VP and Chief Credit Officer, Catherine A. Stevenson, brings 20 years of Pennsylvania banking experience and oversees all credit policy, portfolio risk management and lending operations. Regional market leaders in Butler, Armstrong, Indiana and Allegheny counties report directly to the executive team, ensuring that branch-level decisions align with institutional risk tolerances while preserving the local market knowledge that makes community banking work.

Butler County

Seven branches serve the county where NexTier Bank was born. Butler County is our largest market by deposit volume, anchored by commercial real estate lending, healthcare financing for Butler Health System affiliates, small business lending along Route 8 and Route 356 corridors, and residential mortgage origination for families drawn to the county's affordable housing stock and strong school districts. The Butler headquarters houses the executive team, operations centre and primary data facility.

Armstrong County

Four branches in Kittanning, Ford City, Freeport and Leechburg serve the Allegheny River valley. NexTier Bank finances manufacturing operations, small contractors, municipal projects and the retail businesses that anchor these communities. Armstrong County represents some of our longest-standing customer relationships — families who have banked with us for three generations, from the steel era through the transition to healthcare, logistics and natural gas industries.

Indiana County

Three branches serve Indiana, Homer City and Blairsville. Indiana County's economy blends Indiana University of Pennsylvania's institutional presence with agriculture, timber, natural gas extraction and a growing healthcare sector. Our Indiana County lenders understand the seasonal cash flow patterns of farming operations, the capital needs of university-adjacent businesses, and the real estate dynamics of a college town. We have been the go-to SBA lender in this market for over a decade.

Allegheny County

Four branches in the northern Allegheny County corridor serve communities including Tarentum, Natrona Heights, New Kensington and surrounding areas. This market connects our traditional footprint to the greater Pittsburgh economy. Allegheny County deposits have grown 16% year-over-year as families and businesses in the northern suburbs seek a community banking alternative to the national chains dominating the Pittsburgh market. Commercial lending here focuses on professional services, healthcare providers and light manufacturing.

Experience the NexTier Difference

Whether you are opening your first checking account or refinancing a $5 million commercial property, NexTier Bank assigns a dedicated relationship banker to your account. Not a call centre representative reading from a script. A banker who knows your name, your business, and your goals — and who will still be here next year.

Call 724-543-2500, visit any of our 18 branches, or reach us through the Contact Us page.

Contact a Banker

When was NexTier Bank founded?

NexTier Bank traces its roots to 1934 when it was established as Butler Savings Bank in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Over nine decades of continuous operation, the institution grew through organic expansion and community-focused mergers across Western Pennsylvania, rebranding as NexTier Bank to reflect its broader four-county footprint. Today it manages approximately $1.8 billion in total assets.

How many branches does NexTier Bank operate?

NexTier Bank operates 18 full-service branches across four Western Pennsylvania counties: 7 in Butler County, 4 in Armstrong County, 3 in Indiana County and 4 in Allegheny County. All branches include drive-through service, 24/7 ATM access, safe deposit boxes and a notary public on staff. Visit Contact Us for specific branch addresses and hours.

Is NexTier Bank FDIC insured?

Yes. NexTier Bank is a member FDIC institution. All deposit accounts — checking, savings, money market and certificates of deposit — are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category. NexTier Bank's NMLS number is 407872. The bank is supervised by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities and the FDIC.

What is NexTier Bank's total asset size?

As of year-end 2025, NexTier Bank holds approximately $1.8 billion in total assets under management. The bank's Tier 1 capital ratio exceeds 10.5%, well above regulatory minimums. This growth reflects nine decades of conservative, community-focused banking in Western Pennsylvania — no private equity involvement and no out-of-state ownership.

Who leads NexTier Bank?

NexTier Bank is governed by a board of independent directors composed of Western Pennsylvania business leaders, professionals and community members. The executive team includes the President and CEO, CFO, Chief Credit Officer (Catherine A. Stevenson), Chief Technology Officer and Chief Risk Officer. Four of five executives have been with the institution for more than a decade. Regional market leaders in Butler, Armstrong, Indiana and Allegheny counties report to the executive team.