YONKERS, N.Y., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- James J. Landy, President and CEO of Hudson Valley Holding Corp., announced today that they do not need to participate in the U.S. Treasury Department's Capital Purchase Program (TARP).
"Hudson Valley is extremely well capitalized," Mr. Landy said. "We exceed all current regulatory capital requirements to be considered in the highest category, 'well-capitalized,' and we remain financially strong and profitable despite difficult economic times. After careful analysis and consideration, the Board decided that we do not need to participate in the TARP program."
According to Mr. Landy, "Hudson Valley is well positioned as an independent community bank to continue to meet the deposit and lending needs of our customers and the communities we serve today and in the future." He added that, "given our positive earnings and strong financial position, we would rather not take government funding that could perhaps be better utilized where needed. We plan to stay with the community banking business model that has contributed to our success over the past 36 years, and which we believe is in the best interest of our customers, shareholders, staff and the communities we serve."
Hudson Valley did not participate in any sub prime loans or investments. "We continue to make loans in our local communities," according to Mr. Landy. In 2008, Hudson Valley's net loans grew by almost $400 million or 31% on an annual basis.
Additionally, Hudson Valley opened seven new branches in 2008: in Mamaroneck, NY; Manhattan on West 34th St.; Flushing, NY; Brooklyn on Court St.; Westport, CT; Greenwich CT; and, Fairfield, CT. The Bank has approval from its regulator, the Comptroller of the Currency, to open two more branches in the first half of 2009, one in Eastchester, NY and one in Milford, CT. Mr. Landy said, "We plan to continue our expansion in 2009, which is further evidence of our financial strength and our commitment to the communities we serve."
Hudson Valley Holding Corp. (HUVL), headquartered in Yonkers, NY, is the parent company of two independently owned local banks, Hudson Valley Bank (HVB) and New York National Bank (NYNB). Hudson Valley Bank is a Westchester based bank with more than $2.4 billion in assets, serving the metropolitan area with 30 branches located in Westchester, Rockland, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn in New York and Fairfield County, CT. HVB specializes in providing a full range of financial services to businesses, professional services firms, not-for-profit organizations and individuals; and provides investment management services through a subsidiary, A. R. Schmeidler & Co., Inc. NYNB is a Bronx based bank with approximately $140 million in assets serving the local communities of the Bronx, Upper Manhattan and Roosevelt Island with five branches. NYNB provides a full range of financial services to individuals, small businesses and not-for-profit organizations in its local markets. Hudson Valley Holding Corp.'s stock is traded under the ticker symbol "HUVL" on the OTC Bulletin Board. Additional information on Hudson Valley Bank and NYNB Bank can be obtained on their respective web-sites at http://www.hudsonvalleybank.com/ and http://www.nynb.com/.
This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements refer to future events or our future financial performance. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including "anticipates," "believes," "can," "continue," "expects," "intends," "may," "plans," "potential," "predicts," "should" or "will" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or the banking industry's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, material adverse changes in Hudson Valley Bank's operations or earnings, or a decline in the economy in the New York Metropolitan area. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.
