January 18, 2012
Mark Webb
Legal Branch Chief
Division of Corporate Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F. Street N.E.
Mail Stop 4561
Washington, D.C. 20549
Dear Mr. Webb:
We are in receipt of the letter from the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated January 9, 2012, regarding our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 and our Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2011.
This letter serves to acknowledge that you have agreed to our request for an extension to the ten business days due date so that we may provide you with all of the information you requested in the above mentioned letter. We will provide you with our response no later than Tuesday, January 31, 2012.
Please contact me at (716) 270-8611 if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
/s/ Gregory W. Norwood
Gregory W. Norwood
Chief Financial Officer
First Niagara Financial Group, Inc.
