NexTier CEO Clem Rosenberger drives bank’s growth but maintains its small town roots

Cleman “Clem” Charles Rosenberger III, CEO since 2016 of the region’s 11th-largest bank, continues to take NexTier in new directions. That includes entering New York state last fall by opening retail branches in Rochester and Buffalo. And he’s taking on additional roles, as per his recent appointment to chair the Pennsylvania Bankers Association government relations committee. Rosenberger is marking his 26th year at the same company, which has evolved through mergers. He previously worked for two years as an auditor at Wexford-based accounting firm S.R. Snodgrass before turning to a career in banking. He joined Farmers National Bank of Kittanning in 1999 and became part of its C-suite three years later when he was appointed CFO. In 2008, it merged with Merchants National Bank of Kittanning, creating Farmers & Merchants Bank of Western Pennsylvania, and Rosenberger became COO. Investors in Farmers & Merchants took a stake in NexTier and subsequently opted to combine the two banks, taking the NexTier name. The transaction was completed in 2014, and Rosenberger continued as COO at NexTier for two years before taking the helm.

How much has the bank grown over 26 years? We were $125 million in assets when I joined. It’s now $2.9 billion. The growth is 51% organic and 49% due to mergers.

What’s driving NexTier’s deposit growth, up 6.7% locally this year and almost 28% the prior year? We picked up branches due to the merger with Mars Bank in 2024. That helped, but we’ve also expanded relationships with existing customers and brought on new deposit relationships. Our growth is due to word of mouth. We satisfy the customers, and they tell their friends. It saves on marketing expense. We do a lot with municipal funds and school districts as well as local city and county government. We specialize in those areas, and we want to deal with the people who are at the heart of the community.