SMITHTOWN, N.Y., April 17, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Bank of Smithtown has acquired its first new branch location in New York City.
The location is on Seventh Avenue in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. The Bank's Chairman & CEO, Brad Rock, commented: "For many years now, we have done a considerable amount of commercial real estate lending and small business lending in New York City. Recently we have been negotiating (and continue to negotiate) for several branch sites in the City, and we are happy now to have signed a deal to build our first." The branch will occupy a street level space in a newly-constructed mid-rise condominium building that has been the subject of recent architectural acclaim. All of the condominiums have already been sold, and the first units are expected to be ready for occupancy this Fall. The bank branch is expected to open during late June or early July.
With the recent opening of its Greenvale branch in Nassau County, Bank of Smithtown currently has 16 branches on Long Island.
The Bank presently expects to open 4 to 6 new branches during 2008. In addition to the Greenvale and Manhattan branches, the Nesconset branch should open during late May, and the Huntington branch should open toward the end of the third quarter.
The Bank also presently expects to open 5 or 6 new branches during 2009. Those branches include Port Jefferson, Deer Park, Brentwood, East Setauket and St. James.
Mr. Rock added: "These new branches will help us fund the exceptionally strong loan growth that we have experienced lately. As a result of sub-prime mortgage problems and other difficulties, some of our competitors have had to curtail lending due to capital constraints or liquidity constraints. Because we have been able to avoid those problems, the current economic environment has created opportunities for us to do even more permanent commercial mortgage lending than we have in the past." Over the past 10 years, Bank of Smithtown has averaged loan growth of 26% per year.
Smithtown Bancorp (Nasdaq:SMTB) is the publicly-held parent company of Bank of Smithtown. The Company's stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "SMTB". In a recent issue of U.S. Banker magazine, the Company was rated the sixth best "mid-size" bank in the United States, and the 13th best bank of any size. There are approximately 8,300 banks in the United States.
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