Hudson Valley Bank Adds New Equipment Capital Capabilities To Further Expand Financing Options For Small To Mid-Size Businesses

YONKERS, N.Y., March 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Stephen R. Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hudson Valley Bank, the operating subsidiary of Hudson Valley Holding Corp. (NYSE: HVB), has announced that the bank has formed HVB Equipment Capital LLC.

"HVB Equipment Capital will be a nationwide lender to customers, wholesale partners and manufacturers," according to Mr. Brown. "The unit will offer equipment leasing and lending for a wide range of income-producing equipment, including manufacturing, healthcare, technology, and transportation, among others, with a focus on small and middle market transactions in the $100,000 to $5 million range."

Equipment financing offers a flexible alternative to traditional commercial loans, and an estimated $800 billion is expected to be spent on capital equipment acquisitions this year. "Financing equipment allows companies to enhance cash flow and preserve working capital," said Mr. Brown. "This financing option provides fixed monthly payments, allowing businesses to match debt service to revenue-generating equipment and better budget and forecast finances."

The new group will be based in New York City and headed by Steven A. Orenstein, an industry veteran with over 35 years of experience in equipment finance sales and management. Prior to joining Hudson Valley Bank, Mr. Orenstein was a Senior Vice President of the Sterling National Bank Leasing Division. He began his career in healthcare equipment sales and finance and over the years, held a range of positions at companies including Parliament Leasing, Allied Chemical's Equilease Corporation, Telcom Leasing, and Compton Capital, which was merged with Sterling in 1994. He will be joined by a seasoned team of sales and key support personnel.

"Joining Hudson Valley presents an extraordinary opportunity for all of us on the bank's new equipment financing team," said Mr. Orenstein  "With Hudson Valley's rich history as a dedicated small and middle-market commercial lender, its unrivaled local reputation for personalized service, its very well capitalized position, and the experience of our professional team, we have the tools we need to deliver attractive equipment financing solutions to our customers and make a positive impact on the marketplace."

The new unit is a natural extension of Hudson Valley's longstanding cash-flow commercial and industrial (C&I) lending franchise, as well as a complement to the asset-based lending group that the bank launched late last year.

"We continue to expand our capabilities for addressing the growing needs of the small- and mid-sized commercial customer base, which has always been Hudson Valley Bank's strength," Mr. Brown said.  "The robust market for equipment financing presents significant opportunities for us to leverage our hallmark customized service and our available capital to aggressively compete for deals. We welcome Steve to Hudson Valley and look forward to introducing current and prospective customers to how businesses can benefit from his expertise and our new equipment financing capabilities."

"Hudson Valley is moving strategically forward to diversify and grow our loan portfolio and the Bank," Mr. Brown added.  "We continue to invest in new technology and new areas of business, like equipment capital, to help drive our continued success for the near and long-term."

About Hudson Valley Bank. Hudson Valley Bank serves small- and mid-sized businesses, professional services firms, not-for-profit organizations and select individuals in metropolitan New York.  Headquartered in Yonkers, N.Y., the Company provides a full range of banking, trust and investment management services to niche commercial customers and their principals throughout Westchester and Rockland counties, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan.  Hudson Valley is the largest bank headquartered in Westchester County, with $3.0 billion in assets, $2.6 billion in deposits and 28 branches.  Its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and is a Russell 3000^® Index component.  More information is available at www.hudsonvalleybank.com.  

Hudson Valley Holding Corp. ("Hudson Valley") has made in this press release various forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to earnings, credit quality and other financial and business matters for periods subsequent to December 31, 2013. These statements may be identified by such forward-looking terminology as "expect", "may", "will", "anticipate", "continue", "believe" or similar statements or variations of such terms.  Hudson Valley cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and that statements relating to subsequent periods increasingly are subject to greater uncertainty because of the increased likelihood of changes in underlying factors and assumptions. Actual results could differ materially from forward-looking statements.

Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements, in addition to those risk factors disclosed in the Hudson Valley's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 include, but are not limited to:

• the OCC and other bank regulators may require us to further modify or change our mix of assets, including our concentration in certain types of loans, or require us to take further remedial actions;
• our inability to deploy our excess cash, reduce our expenses and improve our operating leverage and efficiency;
• our inability to pay quarterly cash dividends to shareholders in light of our earnings, the current and future economic environment,  Federal Reserve Board guidance, our Bank's capital plan and other regulatory requirements applicable to Hudson Valley or Hudson Valley Bank;
• the possibility that we may need to raise additional capital in the future and our ability to raise such capital on terms that are favorable to us;
• further increases in our non-performing loans and allowance for loan losses;
• ineffectiveness in managing our commercial real estate portfolio;
• lower than expected  future performance of our investment portfolio;
• a lack of opportunities for growth, plans for expansion (including opening new branches) and increased or unexpected competition in attracting and retaining customers;
• continued poor economic conditions generally and in our market area in particular, which may adversely affect the ability of borrowers to repay their loans and the value of real property or other property held as collateral for such loans;
• lower than expected demand for our products and services;
• possible impairment of our goodwill and other intangible assets;
• our inability to manage interest rate risk;
• the revenue from our asset management subsidiary may not remain at current levels;
• increased expense and burdens resulting from the regulatory environment in which we operate and our inability to comply with existing and future  regulatory requirements;
• our inability to maintain regulatory capital above the minimum levels Hudson Valley Bank has set as its minimum capital levels in its capital plan provided to the OCC, or such higher capital levels as may be required;
• proposed legislative and regulatory action may adversely affect us and the financial services industry;
• future increased Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, special assessments or changes to regular assessments;
• potential liabilities under federal and state environmental laws;
• regulatory limitations on dividends payable by Hudson Valley or Hudson Valley Bank.

We assume no obligation for updating any such forward-looking statements at any given time.

SOURCE Hudson Valley Bank