Partners Trust Announces Promotion of Steven A. Covert to Chief Operating Officer UTICA, N.Y., July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Partners Trust Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTRD), announced the promotion of Steven A. Covert, Executive Vice President, to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer of Partners Trust Financial Group, Inc. and its principal banking subsidiary, Partners Trust Bank. Mr. Covert will continue to have overall responsibility for the companies' financial reporting, treasury management, operations, and technology functions. In addition, he will continue to serve as the companies' Chief Financial Officer. John A. Zawadzki, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated "We are delighted to recognize the significant contributions Steve has made towards the growth of our organization and our financial performance during the past three years. His new title reflects the important leadership role he will play in maximizing the potential of our recent acquisitions and in the continued execution of our business model." Partners Trust Financial Group, Inc., headquartered in Utica, New York, is the holding company for Partners Trust Bank, which was founded in 1839. Partners Trust Bank offers a wide variety of business and retail banking products as well as a full range of trust, investment, and municipal banking services through its 36 Central and Southern New York locations in Oneida, Onondaga, Herkimer, Broome, Tioga and Chenango counties. Customers' banking needs are serviced 24 hours a day through a network of ATMs, automated telephone banking, and through the convenience of internet banking through http://partnerstrust.com/. DATASOURCE: Partners Trust Financial Group, Inc. CONTACT: John Zawadzki, President & CEO, +1-315-738-4778, or Steven Covert, Executive VP, COO & CFO, +1-315-738-4993, both of Partners Trust Financial Group, Inc. Web site: http://partnerstrust.com/

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