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A2 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 13, 2025 Partnering for Connecticut's future At NBT Bank, we pride ourselves on being a true partner to the business community and are excited to once again sponsor the Hartford Business Journal/ New Haven Biz Economic Outlook Survey. This annual survey gives us all critical insight into how local leaders are sizing up the headwinds and tailwinds local businesses and organizations will navigate in the year ahead. The results from the most recent survey reflect a more positive outlook on the economy, but many of the familiar challenges from recent years persist. Hiring and attracting new talent is still an impediment and, while inflation has come down, costs remain higher. With those hurdles remaining in place, many businesses are delaying expansion plans and figuring out how to do more with their existing base. Uncertainty around the impact of tariffs also weighs heavily, and expectations that rates will come down have tempered. Everyone is adapting to this environment and adjusting their growth strategies. Whatever the business environment, NBT stands ready to support current and prospective clients with financial solutions to help overcome challenges and leverage opportunities that are unique and customized to meet your specific needs and goals. Our local decision-making capabilities allow us to be responsive, and we are focused on building strong relationships. With 155 locations across seven states in the northeast, NBT has the scale and investment capability necessary to compete successfully in today's financial services arena, including commercial and small business banking, personal banking, wealth management, retirement plan services and insurance. In 2024, we were excited to open a full-service location in the heart of West Hartford in addition to our regional office there and our full-service branch in Glastonbury. We continue to serve customers in Litchfield County from four locations there, and we are proud to have over 100 NBT Bankers based in Connecticut. Being active in the communities we serve is a core value at NBT. We believe living out this value makes our communities better places to live. We are proud to report that, in addition to volunteering our time, NBT Bank supports over 100 local nonprofits in Connecticut alone. As we begin this new year, I would like to extend my sincere thanks on behalf of our entire team to the communities we serve and to our customers for their partnership and support. Regards, Andreas Kapetanopoulos Regional President, NBT Bank Member FDIC HartfordBusinessJournal_Letter_12_2024.indd 1 HartfordBusinessJournal_Letter_12_2024.indd 1 12/20/24 3:19 PM 12/20/24 3:19 PM