With a snip of the ribbon, Greater Hudson Bank officially opened a new branch in Orange county’s largest town, Monroe, on May 18.
It is the bank’s fifth branch to open since former principals and employees of Union State Bank regrouped and bought the flailing Community Bank of Orange, which was renamed Greater Hudson Bank in October 2008.
In addition to its three branches in Orange County, Greater Hudson Bank has branches in Bardonia and White Plains.
Greater Hudson Bank serves both commercial and residential customers, but for the most part, its emphasis has been on its business-to-business banking.
“As the nature of our industry changes, we have changed with it,” said Kenneth Torsoe, chairman of the bank’s board of directors.
Those changes are reflected in the bank’s strategy of building personal relationships with its clients.
“Today, if a customer is coming into a branch, it is to sit down with their personal banker to transact business,” Torsoe said. “Like every branch, we have tellers’ windows, but more people are using electronic banking or going directly to the ATM machines, so the bank’s layout is geared towards private offices where customer and banker can sit down privately. ”
Greater Hudson Bank”s new Monroe branch has 14 employees. “As we expand, we are committed to the Hudson Valley, while serving the needs of every residential and commercial customer in each county, because each county has its own unique challenges,” added Eric Wiggins, president and chief executive officer. “Many of our customers do business in multiple counties here in the region, and we are committed to continued growth to meet their needs.”
