Provident Bank Hires New Commercial Banker

MONTEBELLO, NY--(Marketwire - Feb 2, 2012) - Provident Bank, a subsidiary of Provident New York Bancorp (NYSE: PBNY), announced today that it has expanded its commercial banking team in Bergen County, New Jersey. Tara Hickson-Parks, who has 15 years of banking experience, has joined PBNY Bank, a division of Provident Bank, New York as Managing Director and is responsible for developing and managing commercial banking business relationships in Bergen County.

"With her many years of experience in commercial real estate lending, Tara is a valuable addition to our Commercial Banking Team. She brings to Provident Bank an impressive record of success in loan originations and new business development," said Carl Capuano, Commercial Banking Market Leader for Provident Bank.

Ms. Hickson-Parks was most recently Vice President, Commercial Real Estate Manager for Carver Federal Savings Bank in New York City where she had a successful track record for loan originations that surpassed the bank's annual goals and was recognized as a leading cross-sell representative. Prior to joining Carver Federal in 2003, she was an Assistant Vice President for Banco Popular of North America and an Associate Director in the Consumer Credit Department of HSBC.

Headquartered in Montebello, N.Y., Provident Bank, with $3.1 billion in assets, specializes in the delivery of service and solutions to business owners, their families, and consumers in communities within the greater New York City marketplace through teams of dedicated and experienced relationship managers. Our franchise includes 36 Financial Centers. Provident Bank offers a complete line of commercial, business, and consumer banking products and services. For more information, visit the Provident Bank Web site at www.providentbanking.com.

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