Provident Bank to Expand into New York City

MONTEBELLO, N.Y., Oct. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Provident Bank, a subsidiary of Provident New York Bancorp (NASDAQ: PBNY), announced today that it has plans to enter New York City in its first expansion since 2007. "This new market entry follows through on our strategic objective of expanding our reach into the greater New York City marketplace," said Jack Kopnisky, President and CEO of Provident Bank. David Bagatelle will serve as an Executive Vice President of Provident Bank and will be President of the New York City market. In this role he will spearhead the expansion into New York City by focusing on serving middle market commercial clients as well as the personal banking needs of the owners, senior managers, and employees of those businesses. "With his experience in the market and track record of success, David is the perfect choice for us to lead this effort," said Jack Kopnisky. "I am looking forward to building a world-class banking operation here in New York City for Provident Bank that provides superior service to our clients and superior results for the bank," David Bagatelle added. Mr. Bagatelle has already begun recruiting efforts to build strong commercial teams for Provident Bank in New York City. The company plans to add a significant number of commercial teams in the greater New York area over the next few years.

David Bagatelle has spent his entire career in the New York City market, most recently as President and CEO of Herald National Bank, a bank he founded. Mr. Bagatelle grew the bank to $500 million in assets and successfully attracted $430 million in predominantly core deposits.

Prior to founding Herald National, Mr. Bagatelle was one of the founders of Signature Bank where he served as Executive Vice President, President of Signature Securities, and a member of its Management Executive Committee. During his tenure, the bank grew to 18 offices, $3.7 billion in deposits, $4.7 billion in assets, and 43 banking teams. He worked closely with the banking teams to assist in bringing in some of the largest client relationships as well as helping attract many successful bankers to join the organization.

Mr. Bagatelle also held leadership positions at Republic National Bank and was the primary executive responsible for 82 locations and 1,000 employees in the New York metropolitan area. He began his banking career at M&T Bank.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS
Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release. There are a number of important factors described in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including a Current Report on Form 8-K, and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to those forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Headquartered in Montebello, N.Y., Provident Bank, with $3.0 billion in assets, is the largest independent full-service community bank in the lower Hudson Valley. Provident Bank operates 36 branches that serve the Hudson Valley region including three Commercial Banking Centers in Westchester County, and two Commercial Banking Centers in Bergen County, N.J. The bank offers a complete line of commercial, retail and investment management services. Visit the Provident Bank Web site at www.providentbanking.com.

SOURCE Provident Bank