Community Bank System, Inc., through its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Community Bank, N.A., entered into a purchase and assumption agreement to acquire eight branch-banking locations across its Northeast Pennsylvania markets from Bank of America, N.A.

Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N. C., is the country's second-largest bank.Local Bank of America branches to be purchased include those in Lansford and Lehighton.Under the terms of the agreement, Community Bank will acquire approximately $369 million in deposits at a deposit premium of 2.39 percent."We are excited by the opportunity to strengthen Community Bank's service footprint across our Northeast Pennsylvania market area," said President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark E. Tryniski. "This acquisition meaningfully improves our presence and density in Northeast Pennsylvania and provides us with improved operating leverage. We believe this is a very attractive transaction at an opportune time in the interest rate cycle and will be additive to shareholder value through expected earnings accretion in 2014."There will be no changes to customer accounts before the transaction closing. Customers of the acquired branches need not take any action at this time, and will be receiving information regarding the transfer of accounts over the next few months. Community Bank expects to retain all of the current customer service personnel at the acquired branches."Our team will be working closely with employees of Bank of America to ensure a smooth transition which we expect will be virtually seamless for customers," said Tryniski. "We believe that our new customers will be very pleased with our strong focus on service and our comprehensive product line."Branches to be acquired include five branches in Luzerne County, one in Lackawanna County and two in Carbon County. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory review and approval.The company previously announced that it will rebrand its First Liberty Bank and Trust operations in Northeastern Pennsylvania to Community Bank, N.A. This changeover is targeted to be complete by early September 2013.RBC Capital Markets acted as exclusive financial adviser to Community Bank System, Inc.Headquartered in DeWitt, N.Y., Community Bank System, Inc. has more than $7.0 billion in assets and over 180 customer facilities. The company's banking subsidiary, Community Bank, N.A. operates across upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania.Its other subsidiaries include: Benefit Plans Administrative Services, Inc., a national employee benefits consulting and trust administration firm; the CBNA Insurance Agency, with offices in five northern New York communities; Community Investment Services, Inc., a wealth management firm delivering a wide range of financial products throughout the company's branch network; and Nottingham Advisors, an investment management and advisory firm.Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri did not respond to requests for comment on the sale.The corporation, which is already on the hook for more than $45 billion to settle disputes rooted in the 2008 financial upset, got more bad news on Tuesday when the U.S. government filed two civil lawsuits against it. The suits accuse the corporation of investor fraud stemming from Bank of America's $850 million sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.Also, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Wednesday that Bank of America has filed notice with the state that it plans to cut 209 jobs next month by closing one of its call centers near Pittsburgh. The workers handled calls about subprime mortgages. BOA had acquired the call center as part of its 2008 purchase of Merrill Lynch.