After 118 years of serving Orange county”™s business and residential community, Orange County Trust is heading over to the east side of the Hudson.
The bank has been growing rapidly over the past three years, opening new branches in the villages of Chester and Goshen in Orange, where it is headquartered. Its newest edition, being built on Route 9 in the village of Fishkill, is at the intersection of Routes 52 and 9.
The 2,400-square-foot bank, estimated to cost $1 million to construct, is being built on a pad site that was already in place, along with all the approvals, including one allowing a bank at the location.
“That made it very appealing to us,” said Terry Saturno, the bank”™s president and CEO. “We did an extensive study of the area before we decided to open a branch here. Having it shovel ready was perfect for our needs.”
Orange Country Trust is leasing the land from Cosimo”™s Restaurant Group of New Windsor, which owns the property and is reconstructing the former Via Nove restaurant, turning it into a blend of commercial and retail space.
Saturno said Nick Citera, Cosimo”™s co-owner, has been “terrific to work with.”
“The entire family is very proactive in their approach to creating a good business model. We”™re happy to be at this location because of it.” Saturno is anticipating a second quarter of 2011 opening for what will be its ninth branch.
Orange County Trust”™s move into Dutchess is the bank”™s first foray outside of its home county.
“We acknowledge the Hudson Valley is growing and many of our customers are also traveling the Route 9 corridor. We looked at this site carefully and did the homework; the demographics were right for us and we feel confident this is going to be a good move for the bank and for our current and future customers.”
Saturno has spent her entire career with the bank, starting out as a teller and moving to her current post in 2006. “It does say something about the feeling people have working for a closely held bank. We become part of the community and our employees feel the same way. We promote from within and continue to do just that. We have a great staff and I doubt we”™d be as successful as we are if not for them.”
Unlike other banks that struggled with negative balance sheets when the recession hit, Saturno said Orange County Trust has not had a single quarter where it has posted a loss during the financial upheaval.
“We did have one quarter where the bank only earned $6 million; and in this economy and during 2009 we felt we were doing justice to our depositors. We didn”™t take any federal TARP money ”“ we didn”™t need it and didn”™t want it. We remained steadfast in our banking tradition and didn”™t go out on a limb, and we haven”™t changed our standards. As a result, the businesses we”™ve loaned money to ”“primarily, we are a commercial lender ”“ as well as our residential customers ”“ have come through the storm. We are well capitalized at 15 percent and expect to remain at that level,” she said.
For those that are struggling with loans or mortgages, however, Saturno said the bank is working with them.
“There are families who have lost a breadwinner and facing a tough time because of it. My advice to anyone who is experiencing any kind of difficulty is to contact their lender immediately. Don”™t wait until it gets out of hand. Banks do not want to own your property ”“ they will work with customers and try to reach the best outcome possible to keep them in their home or business.”
