RIVERHEAD, N.Y., June 30, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Suffolk Bancorp (the "Company") (Nasdaq:SUBK), parent company of Suffolk County National Bank (the "Bank," "SCNB"), today announced that the Bank has opened a new Branch Office at 290 Broadhollow Road, Suite 100E, Melville, NY.
President and CEO Howard C. Bluver stated, "The opening of our new Melville branch, the second new branch for SCNB within the last six months, is a perfect example of the bifurcated branch strategy we have implemented over the last year.
The first part of this strategy was to aggressively right size our traditional branch system in eastern Long Island in order to reduce expenses while preserving the core deposit franchise that produced an overall funding cost of 17 basis points in the first quarter of this year. As previously disclosed, execution of this strategy resulted in the closing of six branches over the last several months. In addition, recognizing the realities of declining levels of in-branch transactions and foot traffic, we have reduced head count and other expenses in the remaining branches. These actions resulted in annual cost savings of $2.5 million with a very minimal loss of deposits."
Mr. Bluver continued, "Today's announcement is consistent with the second part of our branch strategy, which is to open small branches in combination with new Loan Production Offices. These new branches are largely intended to serve business customers and attract new deposits from lending customers. They are small offices of just over 500 square feet in size, and are staffed with three employees. These branches are focused solely on the local business community and the branch staff works directly with the lenders in the Loan Production Offices to attract deposits and provide cash management services to borrowers.
We believe our branch strategy both preserves the competitive advantage we have from the strong core deposit franchise built over 125 years in eastern Long Island, and supports our western expansion into Nassau County and New York City. We now have new branches in Melville and Garden City, as well as 24 branches in our traditional markets, and we will continue this dual strategy as we continue our expansion."
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Frank Filipo commented, "We are pleased to welcome Robert Ward to SCNB in the position of Vice President, Branch Manager for our new Melville branch. Bob comes to us with over 20 years of branch management and business development experience. Having the right people in place is a key part of our strategy, and we look forward to Bob's success as he and his staff works with our strong Melville commercial lending team in building our client relationships."
Corporate Information
Suffolk Bancorp is a one-bank holding company engaged in the commercial banking business through Suffolk County National Bank, a full service commercial bank headquartered in Riverhead, New York and Suffolk Bancorp's wholly owned subsidiary. Organized in 1890, the Bank has 26 branch offices in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York. For more information about the Bank and its products and services, please visit www.scnb.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Certain statements contained in this discussion are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These can include remarks about the Company, the banking industry, the economy in general, expectations of the business environment in which the Company operates, projections of future performance, and potential future credit experience. These remarks are based upon current management expectations, and may, therefore, involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and are beyond the Company's control and are subject to a variety of uncertainties that could cause future results to vary materially from the Company's historical performance, or from current expectations. These remarks may be identified by such forward-looking statements as "should," "expect," "believe," "view," "opportunity," "allow," "continues," "reflects," "typically," "usually," "anticipate," or similar statements or variations of such terms. Factors that could affect the Company include particularly, but are not limited to: increased capital requirements mandated by the Company's regulators; the Company's ability to raise capital; competitive factors, including price competition; changes in interest rates; increases or decreases in retail and commercial economic activity in the Company's market area; variations in the ability and propensity of consumers and businesses to borrow, repay, or deposit money, or to use other banking and financial services; results of regulatory examinations or changes in law, regulations or regulatory practices; the Company's ability to attract and retain key management and staff; any failure by the Company to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting; larger-than-expected losses from the sale of assets; the potential that net charge-offs are higher than expected or for further increases in our provision for loan losses; and a failure by the Company to meet the deadlines under SEC rules for filing its periodic reports (or any permitted extension thereof). Further, it could take the Company longer than anticipated to implement its strategic plans to increase revenue and manage non-interest expense, or it may not be possible to implement those plans at all. Finally, new and unanticipated legislation, regulation, or accounting standards may require the Company to change its practices in ways that materially change the results of operations. We have no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document. For more information, see the risk factors described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.