NORWICH, N.Y. (December 10, 2012) – The kindergarten through eighth grade students at Saint Mark School were visited by NBT Bank of Pittsfield Branch Manager Joseph Lotano for the fourth time this month as part of a series of lessons from the bank’s Strive financial literacy program. Financial education is becoming increasingly important as the economy fluctuates and college loan debt soars, and Strive teaches students about the importance of saving money early and having saving goals.Recently, kindergarten through second graders learned characteristics of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, spending choices, and how to perform basic calculations. Third through fifth graders continued their conversations about saving tips, the flow of money from employer to employee and how consumer dollars flow to businesses. Lotano explained how money is visible as cash and coins but invisible as direct deposits, checks and electronic fund transfers. “Providing resources to help parents, educators and employers to support our youth in becoming financially knowledgeable and independent is extremely important to us. We enjoy coming into local classrooms to speak directly with students of all ages,” Lotano said when sharing the role that NBT Bank serves. “Following these lessons, the sixth through eighth graders were already able to explain the differences between simple and compound interest, and even distinguish realistic and unrealistic rates of return on investment.” NBT Bank’s Lenox Branch Manager John Bortolotto has also been presenting the Bank’s Strive financial literacy program to students at Miss Hall’s School in Pittsfield. NBT Bank’s financial education program, Strive, works with local teachers in the classroom to help today’s youth grow into financially responsible, independent adults. Through a partnership with the American Bankers Association’s Teach Children To Save Program, NBT Bank offers comprehensive financial literacy curriculum available to all local school districts and colleges for classroom based education. NBT Bank offers personal banking, asset management and business services through a network of 135 banking locations in five states. NBT Bank operates from 95 locations in upstate New York, northwestern Vermont and western Massachusetts. NBT’s Pennstar Bank division operates from 35 locations in northeastern Pennsylvania, and its Hampshire First Bank division operates from five locations in southern New Hampshire. NBT Bank and its parent company, NBT Bancorp Inc., are headquartered in Norwich, N.Y. NBT Bancorp Inc. had assets of $6.0 billion as of September 30, 2012, and is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol NBTB. More information about NBT Bank and NBT Bancorp can be found on the Internet at http://www.nbtbank.com and http://www.nbtbancorp.com.