Regions

In a joint announcement made today, Provident New York Bancorp and Sterling Bancorp said that it had received all regulatory approvals to pursue its planned merger. The New York State Department of Financial Services, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had provided their signatures for approval of the merger.

The merger of the two US banks had been announced earlier on April 4. Once the merger would be finalized, the consolidated company would be taking the name Sterling Bancorp. Provident Bank would be Sterling's subsidiary company as a national bank charter.

Provident New York Bancorp President and CEO Jack L. Kopnisky, "This merger is a tremendous opportunity for Provident and a significant step in our strategy to expand within the greater New York metropolitan area. It provides greater diversity of product sets, clients, and revenue streams while presenting considerable potential to build our small- to middle-market and consumer client bases."

The stock-for-stock deal was valued at USD344 million. Provident shareholders would be having a 53% ownership stake total in the combined company, while shareholders of Sterling would have 47%.