Exhibit 99


		News Release


COMMUNITY BANK SYSTEM, INC.
5790 Widewaters Parkway, DeWitt, N.Y. 13214		For further information, please contact:
		Scott A. Kingsley,
		EVP & Chief Financial Officer
		Office: (315) 445-3121
		Fax: (315) 445-7347

COMMUNITY BANK SYSTEM REPORTS
HIGHER SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS

SYRACUSE, N.Y., July 18 — Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) earned quarterly net income of $10.4 million in the second quarter of 2007, a 7.3% increase from the $9.7 million generated last quarter and a 4.8% increase from the $9.9 million earned in the second quarter of 2006. Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.34, 6.3% higher than the $0.32 earned last quarter, and 3% greater than the $0.33 per share generated in last year’s second quarter. Cash earnings per share (which exclude the after-tax effect of intangible asset amortization and acquisition-related market value adjustments) were $0.39 in the second quarter, $0.05 per share, or 15%, above GAAP-reported results. Year-to-date net earnings of $20.0 million, or $0.66 per share, were 3.5% greater than the first six months of 2006.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark E. Tryniski commented, “Our second quarter’s highlights featured a 22% increase in non-interest income over the second quarter of 2006, with sizable contributions from both banking and financial services sources. Loans grew substantially as well, increasing $85 million or 3.2% over the first quarter of 2007. Approximately one-third of this was organic growth, with the remaining two-thirds attributable to the Tupper Lake National Bank acquisition, which closed in early June. In fact, our organic and acquired loan growth is over 13% during the last 12 months, and we continue to generate improved bottom-line results despite lower net interest margins. In addition, our asset quality metrics remained outstanding, with non-performing asset and loan charge-off ratios actually decreasing from their remarkably low levels last quarter, resulting in continued reductions in credit costs.”

Net interest income was consistent with both the first quarter of 2007 and the second quarter of 2006, despite a ten-basis-point decrease in net interest margin from the previous two quarters to 3.64%. Slightly higher loan yields in the quarter were offset by higher funding costs, principally time deposit related, resulting in the net margin compression.

Total loans at the end of the second quarter were $2.77 billion, up 13.2% from the prior year, a result of both acquired and organic loan growth in all portfolios. The company’s loan portfolio continues to be very well balanced, with 35.7% of total loans found in business lending, 34.3% in consumer mortgages, and 30.0% in consumer installment loans, including home equity products. The company’s consumer real estate portfolio does not include exposure to subprime, Alt-A, or other higher-risk mortgage products.

Non-interest income (excluding investment securities gains/losses) rose more than $1.5 million, or 11.4%, over the first quarter of 2007, with banking service income rising $0.6 million, or 8.1%, while financial services revenue climbed $0.9 million, or 16.2%. The banking services increase came mainly from new and expanded account relationships and growing debit card-related revenues. The increase in financial services revenue over the first quarter was due largely to the mid-May acquisition of Hand Benefits & Trust, a provider of administration, consulting, and actuarial services to sponsors of employee benefit plans. Non-interest income for the quarter was 22% higher than its year-ago period, and included meaningful organic growth as well as incremental revenues from acquisitions.

Operating expenses increased $0.2 million versus the prior quarter, due principally to the two acquisitions completed during the quarter. Year-over-year operating expenses increased $2.9 million, or 9.4%, comprised of higher personnel and other operating expenses related to the four acquisitions completed in the last 11 months.

The company’s effective income tax rate of 25.0% in the second quarter of 2007 was higher than the 24.1% rate incurred during first quarter of 2007 and the second quarter of 2006.

Asset Quality

The $0.4 million loan loss provision for the quarter was slightly higher than the $0.2 million reported last quarter, but still significantly lower than the $1.7 million reported a year earlier. Net charge-offs of $0.4 million, or 0.05% of average loans, were down 77% from $1.5 million, or 0.26% of average loans, in the second quarter of 2006. They were also down 42% from $0.6 million, or 0.09% of average loans, in the first quarter of 2007. As of June 30, 2007, the company’s nonperforming loan ratio was 0.36%, lower than the 0.47% level recorded in each of the last three quarters, as well as the 0.45% level of a year ago. The delinquency ratio was 0.95% at June 30, compared favorably to the already improved levels of 1.02% at March 31, 2007, and 1.15% at June 30, 2006. Nonperforming assets to total assets were 0.25%, an improvement from the favorable 0.32% reported in the previous quarter, as well as the 0.30% of a year earlier. These highly attractive asset quality metrics reflect the company’s enhanced credit risk management programs and disciplined underwriting standards.

Financial Position

Average earning assets of $4.1 billion for the second quarter of 2007 were up 1.4% from the prior quarter. Compared to the second quarter of 2006, average earning assets rose $335.6 million, or 9.0%, due principally to increases in loans, both organic and acquired. The average total deposit balance for the quarter increased $100.8 million to $3.3 billion, a 3.2% rise from the first quarter of 2007, while the period-end level of total deposits represented a 10.7% increase over its year-ago level, climbing from $3.04 billion to $3.36 billion. Total borrowings decreased by nearly $50 million from the first quarter of 2007, as the company elected to not fully reinvest cash flows from maturing securities during the quarter, and instead reduced borrowings.

In addition, the company is currently in the process of reviewing early extinguishment of its two $25 million, variable-rate trust preferred obligations, which include premium call provisions of slightly over 6%. The company estimates the impact of the one-time charge associated with this potential action to be between $0.09 and $0.10 per share, and expects to conclude its evaluation prior to year-end.

Stock Repurchases

During the second quarter of 2007 the company purchased 232,500 common shares, at an aggregate cost of approximately $4.8 million, under the previously announced share repurchase programs authorized in December 2006. At June 30, 2007, there were 1.25 million shares available for repurchase under these programs.

Expansion Initiatives

During the quarter, the company completed the acquisition of both Hand Benefits & Trust (HB&T) and Tupper Lake National Bank (TLNB), and opened a de novo branch in Springville, N.Y.

Based in Houston, HB&T significantly expands the geographic and product diversity offered by its BPAS, Inc. subsidiary which now has annual revenues exceeding $20 million. It adds a physical presence in the Southwest and enhances the company’s service offerings in flexible spending account and collective investment fund administration services.

The TLNB transaction added nearly $100 million in assets, five branches and a small insurance agency in northeastern New York. Its Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake locations give the company its first facilities in Clinton and Essex counties, respectively, and its two Tupper Lake branches strengthen its presence in Franklin County to a “number-one” deposit market share position. In conjunction with this transaction, the company will maintain two regional advisory boards in these markets to help further develop business strategies, identify opportunities and facilitate expanded market development.

The new Springville location positions the company closer to opportunities in the southern Erie County suburbs, south of Buffalo. The company continues to evaluate expansion alternatives of both an acquisition and de novo nature.

Other Developments

Mr. Tryniski further commented, “In June, our company received a very special honor, ranking second in the nation in J.D. Power & Associates’ ‘2007 Retail Banking Satisfaction Study.’ The survey included bank customers across 39 states, and we outscored all of the money-center, super-regional, and regional banks in the nation, finishing second only to one, which is not in any of our markets. It is a testament not only to the truly unique approach we take with our customers and the communities we serve, but also to the high character and dedication of our more than 1,500 employees. I am proud of and thankful to our employees for this truly exceptional accomplishment, and look forward to the continuation and enhancement of the strategies and programs that allowed us this highest form of recognition.”

Conference Call Scheduled

A conference call will be held with company management at 11:00 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, July 19, 2007, to discuss the above results at 1-866-838-2057. An audio recording will be available one hour after the call until September 30, 2007, and may be accessed at 1-888-284-7564 (access code 217446). Investors may also listen live via the Internet at: http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=40683.

This webcast will be archived on this site for one full year and may be accessed at any point during this time at no cost. This earnings release, including supporting financial tables, is available within the Investor Relations / News & Media section of the company’s website at: http://www.communitybankna.com.

Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) is a registered bank holding company based in DeWitt, N.Y., with $4.6 billion in assets and 140 customer facilities. Its wholly-owned banking subsidiary operates as Community Bank, N.A. across Upstate New York, and as First Liberty Bank & Trust throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its other subsidiaries include: BPAS, Inc., an employee benefits firm which includes BPA-Harbridge, a provider of daily valuation and actuarial services, and Hand Benefits & Trust, a provider of Section 125, custodian and collective investment fund administration services, from offices in Upstate New York, Pittsburgh, and Houston; Community Investment Services, Inc., a broker-dealer delivering financial products throughout the company’s branch network; and Nottingham Advisors, a wealth management and advisory firm with offices in Buffalo, N.Y., and North Palm Beach, Fla. For more information, please visit our websites at: www.communitybankna.com or www.firstlibertybank.com.

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Summary of Financial Data
(Dollars in thousands, expect per share data)
	Quarter Ended June 30,					Year-to-Date June 30,

	2007			2006		2007			2006

Earnings
Loan income	$	46,090		$	39,760	$	91,025		$	78,088
Investment Income		17,166			16,722		33,789			33,052
Total interest income		63,256			56,482		124,814			111,140
Interest Expense		29,918			22,873		58,109			43,846
Net interest income		33,338			33,609		66,705			67,294
Provision for loan losses		414			1,725		614			3,875
Net interest income after provision for loan losses		32,924			31,884		66,091			63,419
Deposit service fees		7,825			7,063		14,802			13,672
Other banking services		444			361		1,114			837
Trust, investment and asset management fees		2,009			1,766		3,869			3,816
Benefit plan administration, consulting and actuarial fees		4,767			3,155		8,739			6,536
Investment securities gains, net		(27	)		0		(27	)		0
Total noninterest income		15,018			12,345		28,497			24,861
Salaries and employee benefits		18,280			16,425		36,566			33,207
Professional fees		1,054			1,108		2,239			2,391
Occupancy and equipment and furniture		4,557			4,448		9,206			9,207
Amortization of intangible assets		1,581			1,489		3,096			2,982
Other		8,495			7,737		16,320			14,855
Special charges/acquisition expenses		165			1		624			1
Total operating expenses		34,132			31,208		68,051			62,643
Income before income taxes		13,810			13,021		26,537			25,637
Income taxes		3,451			3,137		6,522			6,291
Net income	$	10,359		$	9,884	$	20,015		$	19,346
Basic earnings per share	$	0.34		$	0.33	$	0.66		$	0.65
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.34		$	0.33	$	0.66		$	0.64
Diluted earnings per share-cash ⁽¹⁾	$	0.39		$	0.37	$	0.75		$	0.72


Summary of Financial Data
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
	2007						2006

	2nd Qtr			1st Qtr			4th Qtr			3rd Qtr			2nd Qtr

Earnings
Loan income	$	46,090		$	44,935		$	45,543		$	43,482		$	39,760
Investment Income		17,166			16,623			16,057			15,679			16,722
Total interest income		63,256			61,558			61,600			59,161			56,482
Interest Expense		29,918			28,191			27,877			25,369			22,873
Net interest income		33,338			33,367			33,723			33,792			33,609
Provision for loan losses		414			200			1,410			1,300			1,725
Net interest income after provision for loan losses		32,924			33,167			32,313			32,492			31,884
Deposit service fees		7,825			6,977			7,347			7,329			7,063
Other banking services		444			670			564			1,329			361
Trust, investment and asset management fees		2,009			1,860			1,765			1,815			1,766
Benefit plan administration, consulting and actuarial fees		4,767			3,972			3,398			3,271			3,155
Investment securities gains, net		(27	)		0			(2,403	)		0			0
Total noninterest income		15,018			13,479			10,671			13,744			12,345
Salaries and employee benefits		18,280			18,286			17,155			16,741			16,425
Professional fees		1,054			1,185			1,083			1,119			1,108
Occupancy and equipment and furniture		4,557			4,649			4,331			4,346			4,448
Amortization of intangible assets		1,581			1,515			1,525			1,520			1,489
Other		8,495			7,825			8,134			7,960			7,737
Special charges/acquisition expenses		165			459			492			154			1
Total operating expenses		34,132			33,919			32,720			31,840			31,208
Income before income taxes		13,810			12,727			10,264			14,396			13,021
Income taxes		3,451			3,071			2,112			3,517			3,137
Net income	$	10,359		$	9,656		$	8,152		$	10,879		$	9,884
Basic earnings per share	$	0.34		$	0.32		$	0.27		$	0.36		$	0.33
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.34		$	0.32		$	0.27		$	0.36		$	0.33
Diluted earnings per share-cash ⁽¹⁾	$	0.39		$	0.36		$	0.31		$	0.40		$	0.37
Profitability
Return on assets		0.92	%		0.88	%		0.73	%		1.01	%		0.95	%
Return on equity		8.92	%		8.43	%		6.89	%		9.44	%		8.76	%
Noninterest income/operating income (FTE)⁽²⁾		28.9	%		26.6	%		25.9	%		26.8	%		24.8	%
Efficiency ratio ⁽³⁾		62.2	%		63.1	%		60.8	%		58.8	%		59.8	%
Components of Net Interest Margin (FTE)
Loan yield		6.84	%		6.81	%		6.80	%		6.77	%		6.60	%
Investment yield		6.06	%		6.11	%		5.96	%		5.94	%		6.17	%
Earning asset yield		6.58	%		6.58	%		6.52	%		6.49	%		6.45	%
Interest-bearing deposit rate		2.96	%		2.80	%		2.70	%		2.55	%		2.38	%
Short-term borrowing rate		4.20	%		4.16	%		3.91	%		4.21	%		3.63	%
Long-term borrowing rate		5.58	%		5.57	%		5.80	%		5.70	%		5.60	%
Cost of all interest-bearing funds		3.47	%		3.37	%		3.32	%		3.15	%		2.96	%
Cost of funds (includes DDA)		2.99	%		2.90	%		2.84	%		2.68	%		2.50	%
Net interest margin (FTE)		3.64	%		3.74	%		3.74	%		3.87	%		4.00	%
Fully tax-equivalent adjustment	$	3,722		$	3,796		$	3,743		$	3,764		$	3,747

Summary of Financial Data
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)


	2007						2006

	2nd Qtr			1st Qtr			4th Qtr			3rd Qtr			2nd Qtr

Average Balances
Loans	$	2,712,021		$	2,684,566		$	2,668,442		$	2,558,137		$	2,425,763
Taxable investment securities		885,286			843,857			797,541			776,028			803,536
Nontaxable investment securities		485,922			500,273			508,467			512,721			518,309
Total interest-earning assets		4,083,229			4,028,696			3,974,450			3,846,886			3,747,608
Total assets		4,536,348			4,469,244			4,423,468			4,272,052			4,167,403
Interest-bearing deposits		2,718,135			2,622,472			2,576,041			2,540,150			2,460,781
Short-term borrowings		154,799			159,444			160,262			125,013			127,208
Long-term borrowings		589,686			613,624			599,121			534,811			509,102
Total interest-bearing liabilities		3,462,620			3,395,540			3,335,424			3,199,974			3,097,091
Noninterest-bearing deposits		557,195			552,087			558,439			557,398			565,651
Shareholders’ equity	$	465,652		$	464,623		$	469,127		$	456,996		$	452,408
Balance Sheet Data
Cash and cash equivalents	$	242,410		$	224,917		$	232,032		$	119,430		$	124,453
Investment securities		1,219,491			1,317,554			1,229,271			1,250,251			1,253,202
Loans:
Consumer mortgage		948,430			914,909			912,505			890,939			822,235
Business lending		988,886			957,853			960,034			953,808			827,021
Consumer installment		829,860			809,472			829,019			816,815			795,010
Total loans		2,767,176			2,682,234			2,701,558			2,661,562			2,444,266
Allowance for loan losses		36,690			35,891			36,313			35,517			32,900
Intangible assets		258,110			244,598			246,136			239,635			221,896
Other assets		132,652			125,476			125,113			137,099			128,263
Total assets		4,583,149			4,558,888			4,497,797			4,372,460			4,139,180
Deposits		3,364,577			3,278,468			3,168,299			3,138,774			3,039,038
Borrowings		577,134			626,765			647,481			628,412			512,997
Subordinated debt held by unconsolidated subsidiary trusts		127,111			127,099			158,014			80,545			80,530
Other liabilities		54,703			59,659			62,475			60,130			55,039
Total liabilities		4,123,525			4,091,991			4,036,269			3,907,861			3,687,604
Shareholders’ equity		459,624			466,897			461,528			464,599			451,576
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity		4,583,149			4,558,888			4,497,797			4,372,460			4,139,180
Assets under management or administration	$	3,476,978		$	3,296,238		$	3,153,576		$	2,944,725		$	2,713,423
Capital
Tier 1 leverage ratio		7.90	%		8.29	%		8.81	%		7.26	%		7.73	%
Tangible equity / tangible assets		4.66	%		5.15	%		5.07	%		5.44	%		5.86	%
Accumulated other comprehensive income		(11,610	)		(3,994	)		(4,697	)		3,798			(3,638	)
Diluted weighted average common shares O/S		30,396			30,547			30,454			30,334			30,308
Period end common shares outstanding		29,873			30,096			30,020			29,867			29,850
Cash dividends declared per common share	$	0.20		$	0.20		$	0.20		$	0.20		$	0.19
Book value		15.39			15.51			15.37			15.56			15.13
Tangible book value		6.75			7.39			7.17			7.53			7.69
Common stock price (end of period)		20.02			20.92			23.00			22.16			20.17


Summary of Financial Data
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

	2007						2006

	2nd Qtr			1st Qtr			4th Qtr			3rd Qtr			2nd Qtr


Asset Quality
Nonaccrual loans	$	9,191		$	10,697		$	11,382		$	11,414		$	10,327
Accruing loans 90+ days delinquent		779			1,914			1,207			1,133			765
Total nonperforming loans		9,970			12,611			12,589			12,547			11,092
Other real estate owned (OREO)		1,411			1,916			1,838			1,320			1,353
Total nonperforming assets		11,381			14,527			14,427			13,867			12,445
Net charge-offs		362			622			1,400			1,115			1,545
Loan loss allowance/loans outstanding		1.33	%		1.34	%		1.34	%		1.33	%		1.35	%
Nonperforming loans/loans outstanding		0.36	%		0.47	%		0.47	%		0.47	%		0.45	%
Loan loss allowance/nonperforming loans		368	%		285	%		288	%		283	%		297	%
Net charge-offs/average loans		0.05	%		0.09	%		0.21	%		0.17	%		0.26	%
Delinquent loans/ending loans		0.95	%		1.02	%		1.33	%		1.22	%		1.15	%
Loan loss provision/net charge-offs		114	%		32	%		101	%		117	%		112	%
Nonperforming assets/total assets		0.25	%		0.32	%		0.32	%		0.32	%		0.30	%


⁽¹⁾	Excludes the after-tax effect of amortization of intangible assets and market value adjustment amortization on acquired loans and deposits.

⁽²⁾	Excludes gain (loss) on investment securities & debt extinguishment.

⁽³⁾	Excludes intangible amortization, acquisition expenses/special charges and gain (loss) on investment securities & debt extinguishment.

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This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following factors, among others, could cause the actual results of CBU’s operations to differ materially from CBU’s expectations: the successful integration of operations of its acquisitions; competition; changes in economic conditions, interest rates and financial markets; and changes in legislation or regulatory requirements. CBU does not assume any duty to update forward-looking statements.