In 1972, Hudson Valley Bank consisted of a trailer on East Grassy Sprain Road in Yonkers. It had $10 million in assets after its first 12 months in business. Humble beginnings indeed.
Today, as the bank approaches its 40th anniversary on May 12, it ranks among the tri-state region”™s largest community banks with more than $2.8 billion in assets.
While still based in Yonkers, Hudson Valley Bank ”“ a subsidiary of Hudson Valley Holding Corp. ”“ now operates 36 branches in Westchester, Rockland, Fairfield County, Conn., and New York City, with the newest branch opening in Suffern in January.
Hudson Valley Bank”™s presence across the Hudson is still relatively minor: Suffern became its second full-service location in Rockland. A New City branch opened in 2007.
However, CEO and President James J. Landy said Rockland is turning into an area of strategic importance, and compared the circumstances underlying the bank”™s expansion there to those that initially led to its establishment 40 years ago.
“When the bank was formed 40 years ago it was because of all these money center banks coming in and buying up the local banks,” said Hudson Valley Holding Corp. CEO and President James J. Landy. “There was no local bank left at that time in the Yonkers community.”
Similarly, Landy said a void was left in Rockland following Cleveland-based KeyCorp”™s November 2007 takeover of U.S.B. Holding Co. Inc. and its banking subsidiary Union State Bank, which was at the time one of the predominant community banks in the county.
“We saw the vacuum there,” he said. “As a result, it was a natural extension for us to cross the river. In the past we didn”™t go over to Rockland because that need for our style bank was filled by Union State.”
While people are apt to claim a midlife crisis at the age of 40, Hudson Valley Holding Corp. enters May having recently reported strong first quarter earnings after a lackluster end to 2011.
The bank”™s profits for the quarter ended March 31 topped $18 million, compared to a net loss of $22.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and net income of $4.8 million during the first quarter of 2011.
Profits from the first quarter of this year include $9.4 million in after-tax net income stemming from a previously announced sale of $474 million in loans.
The bank”™s total deposits as of March 31 stood at $2.4 billion.
Hudson Valley Bank”™s success is built on a commitment to community business banking, said John B. Bartolotta, senior vice president in charge of the bank”™s Rockland operations.
“We give clients the ability to dial a phone number and get in touch with your relationship manager at all times. That approach has resulted in a mutually beneficial relationship between ourselves and our clients,” Bartolotta said. “I think a lot of that proof is clearly evidenced in our performance.”
Bartolotta said the bank”™s New City branch achieved deposit growth in its first three years that was expected to take five.
“It is highly indicative of how the market has responded to us,” he said.
Because Hudson Valley Holding Corp. is a publicly traded company, SEC regulations prevent Landy from sharing expansion plans.
However, after opening 13 new branches since the start of 2007, Landy said the bank”™s leaders “are continually looking into new markets that fit our model.”
