KeyBank today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc. to USI Insurance Services. KeyBank acquired Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc. as part of the 2016 merger with First Niagara Financial Group.

Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc., with a division headquarters in Buffalo, N.Y., has 350 teammates working in eight offices in upstate New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. USI is headquartered in Valhalla, NY and is one of the largest privately held insurance brokerage firms in the United States, with more than 6,000 associates in over 150 offices.

"We are proud to welcome Kirk Jensen, president of Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc., and his dedicated team of insurance professionals to USI. Together, USI and Key Insurance and Benefit Services, Inc. bring tremendous experience and insights, with a shared philosophy of understanding and servicing our clients, coupled with a strong sense of community and a commitment to our culture and people," said Michael J. Sicard, USI's chairman and chief executive officer. "We look forward to leveraging our USI ONE Advantage® platform together to bring clients a unique suite of property and casualty, employee benefit, personal risk and retirement solutions with bottom line impact."

"We want to thank our teammates at Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc. for their contribution to Key. Through this sale, we are highlighting our focus on delivering core banking services across our footprint. We believe that Key Insurance & Benefits Services, Inc. and USI represent complementary businesses without geographic overlap and a shared commitment to providing strong client service and product expertise," said E.J. Burke, Co-President, Key Community Bank.

"We are excited to join an insurance-only platform that is powered by the best technology in the industry, so our team can continue to provide our clients with the best service in the business," Jensen said. "By joining USI, we will have an unrivaled toolkit to help our clients manage risk and benefits costs."

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter 2018. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to KeyBank in connection with the transaction.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp's roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $137.7 billion at December 31, 2017. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, insurance, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,200 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications, and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

About USI

USI is one of the largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms in the world, delivering property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, program and retirement solutions to large risk management clients, middle market companies, smaller firms and individuals. Headquartered in Valhalla, New York, USI connects together over 6,000 industry leading professionals across more than 150 offices to serve clients' local, national and international needs. USI has become a premier insurance brokerage and consulting firm by leveraging the USI ONE Advantage®, an interactive platform that integrates proprietary and innovative client solutions, networked local resources and expertise, and enterprise-wide collaboration to deliver customized results with positive, bottom line impact. USI attracts best-in-class industry talent with a long history of deep and continuing investment in our local communities. For more information, visit usi.com.