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Bank of Smithtown: Bank of Smithtown Opens 20th Long Island Branch in Port Jefferson

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^{Published in Business and Finance on Monday, February 9th 2009 at 9:19 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-02-09 09:21:01 by Market Wire}  

SMITHTOWN, NY--(Marketwire - February 9, 2009) - Bank of Smithtown, a subsidiary of Smithtown Bancorp (NASDAQ: [ SMTB ]), has opened its 20th branch on Long Island in the village of Port Jefferson. The branch is located on North Country Road across the street from Mather Hospital. A new medical office building is also being constructed at the site.

John Romano, Executive Vice President in charge of all of the Bank's branches, commented: "We have wanted to develop a branch presence in Port Jefferson for quite some time. We feel that it is a natural fit between our offices in Setauket and Miller Place. We are also pleased to open at such a good location across from Mather Hospital amid so many professional offices, with many small businesses near to the west and many attractive residences near to the east."

Bank of Smithtown opened four new branches last year. The Bank opened branches in Greenvale in April, Nesconset in June, Garden City in August, and Huntington in November. The branches have all been successful, collecting $187 million in new deposits during 2008. Bankwide, Bank of Smithtown grew deposits by 38% last year. The Bank's Chairman & CEO, Brad Rock, commented: "These new branches help us fund the strong loan growth opportunities we have been experiencing as a result of some of the economic disruption and changes in the competitive environment." Bank of Smithtown increased its loan portfolio by more than $700 million last year.

The Bank presently expects to open four or five more new branches during 2009. The Bank's first New York City branch in Chelsea will open soon. The Bank also has branch projects currently under development in Deer Park, East Setauket, St. James, Brentwood, Hicksville and Manhattan. The Bank is also involved in negotiations for other sites in Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn and Manhattan. If those negotiations are successfully concluded, most of those branches would open in 2010.

The manager of the new Port Jefferson branch, Jill Saltarelli, said: "We are looking forward to bringing our special brand of community banking to Port Jefferson. Customers will like the kind of choices we provide and the kind of service that has made us such a highly-rated community bank for so many years."

Founded in 1910, Bank of Smithtown is nearing its 100th anniversary as a community bank and is the largest independent commercial bank headquartered on Long Island. The stock of its parent holding company, Smithtown Bancorp, is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "SMTB." Smithtown Bancorp has often been ranked among the top bank holding companies in the country, including having been rated #1 by U.S. Banker and other rating services. At various times in the past, the Company's stock has also been rated by Investors Business Daily and USA Today as one of the top stocks in the nation.

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