Sterling Bancorp (STL) 8-K Press Release of Provident New York Bancorp

EXHIBIT 99

PRESS RELEASE OF PROVIDENT NEW YORK BANCORP

Exhibit 99

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Stock Symbol: PBNY
October 29, 2007	Traded on NASDAQ Global Select Market

PROVIDENT BANK CONTACT:

Paul A. Maisch, EVP & Chief Financial Officer

Miranda Grimm, VP & Controller

845. 369.8040

PROVIDENT NEW YORK BANCORP

ANNOUNCES

QUARTERLY EARNINGS OF $5.1 MILLION, OR $0.13 PER DILUTED SHARE

MONTEBELLO, NY – October 29, 2007 – Provident New York Bancorp (Nasdaq-Global Select Market: PBNY), the parent company of Provident Bank, today announced that for the three months ended September 30, 2007, net income was $5.1 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared to net income of $5.1 million, or $0.12 per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2006. For the year ended September 30, 2007, net income was $19.6 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, compared to net income of $20.2 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, for the year ended September 30, 2006.

George Strayton, President and CEO commented: “While the past year’s rate environment presented many challenges, we achieved strong loan growth across all loan categories, and continued to strengthen our net interest margin- all while maintaining our disciplined deposit pricing. We grew overall loans more than 11%, led by commercial loan growth of 13.7%. Additionally, through our diversity of business lines, we increased non-interest income over 15%. With our solid performance, we were able to increase the quarterly dividend paid to our shareholders by 20% to $0.06 per share effective with our November 2007 dividend.

We also continued to invest in marketing and development to improve our market share as we strengthen our franchise. Most recently we launched our “Mrs. P” marketing campaign designed to emphasize our position as the largest remaining independent community bank in our market. We also broke ground on our new Pine Bush branch in September, the first of four major branch relocations planned for 2008. These new facilities will improve our delivery of services to customers in more visible and accessible locations”.

Key Balance Sheet Changes at September 30, 2007 vs. September 30, 2006

• Gross loans, excluding loans held for sale, grew $164.5 million to $1.6 billion, largely due to a $108.1 million, or 13.7%, increase in commercial loans.

Provident New York Bancorp Press Release cont. 2

• Securities decreased $180.3 million to $832.4 million, as the Company funded loan growth and paid down higher cost borrowings with maturing securities.

• Total assets at September 30, 2007 decreased to $2.8 billion, down $39.2 million, or 1.4%, from September 30, 2006.

• Money market accounts increased by $39.8 million, offset by declines in savings accounts and certificates of deposit of $31.9 million and $28.6 million, respectively. Total transaction accounts increased in total by $5.7 million to $526.3 million.

• The Company does not hold “subprime” loans or investment securities. Non-performing assets increased $1.1 million from September 30, 2006 due primarily to two commercial relationships, but is down from quarter end June and March 2007 levels. Our non-performing loans as a percent of total loans at 0.44% has decreased over the two prior quarters. and asset quality remains strong.

• Stockholders’ equity decreased $197,000 to $405.1 million. Net retentions of earnings of $10.5 million, $5.6 million in stock-based compensation transactions and a decrease in other comprehensive loss on available-for-sale securities (SFAS No.115) of $3.4 million to $4.2 million, were offset by repurchases of 1.5 million shares of common stock (460,490 shares in the fiscal fourth quarter) at a cost of $20.9 million.

• As of September 30, 2007, 2.7 million shares remain available for repurchase under the Company’s current stock repurchase program.

• The Company’s tangible capital ratio increased to 8.88% at September 30, 2007, compared to 8.74% at year end 2006.

Key Operating Results – Quarter Ended September 30, 2007 vs. September 30, 2006

Net interest income increased $1.5 million, or 7.4%, to $22.2 million primarily as a result of an increase in interest income of $2.5 million, more than offsetting an increase in interest expense of $1.0 million. Tax equivalent net interest margin increased from 3.46% for the three months ended September 30, 2006 to 3.72% for the same period in 2007.

Average interest-earning assets increased by $2.2 million compared to the prior year’s quarter, including an increase of $164.7 million in loans, mostly offset by a decrease of $161.9 million in securities. The overall yield on earning assets increased 40 basis points to 6.30%. These factors led to an increase of $2.5 million in gross interest income. The cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased by 22 basis points to 3.33%. With decreases of $19.5 million in average borrowings, the resulting increase in interest expense was $1.0 million, to $16.8 million. In addition the difference in the mix of deposits also contributed to higher interest expense.

The provision for loan losses increased $300,000 to $600,000 in the quarter, reflecting net charge-offs of $910,000. The increase is due primarily to two non-accrual loans considered impaired and the charge-offs reflect the estimated value of collateral which deteriorated from the prior quarter end.

Non-interest income increased by $161,000, or 3.4% for the three months ended September 30, 2007 compared to the same period the prior year. Investment management fees increased by $93,000 due to fees earned by our investment management subsidiary, HVIA. An increase in deposit service charges and fees of $165,000, or 5.9%, offset a $167,000 decline in title insurance fees due to a slowdown in the real estate markets.

Total non-interest expense increased by $1.4 million, or 7.9%, to $19.0 million. Marketing expenses increased $666,000 as the company positioned itself for future growth. Compensation and benefits expense increased by $792,000 for the quarter mainly due to severance accruals for six position eliminations of $264,000, higher incentive compensation of $235,000 and an overall

Provident New York Bancorp Press Release cont. 3

increase of $70,000 in benefit costs. Stock-based compensation increased by $103,000, mainly due to expenses associated with additional stock option expense.

The Company’s effective tax rate for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 was 31.5%, compared to 32.6% for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. The lower rate in 2007 reflects the higher utilization of tax-exempt securities in 2007.

Key Operating Results – Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2007 vs. September 30, 2006

Net interest income remained relatively unchanged over 2006 levels at $84.7 million. Interest income was up $16.0 million to $151.6 million for the year ended 2007. This was offset by an increase in interest expense of $9.6 million for deposits and $6.4 million for borrowings reflecting the higher average level of market interest rates in fiscal 2007 over fiscal 2006. Tax equivalent net interest margin decreased from 3.68% for the year ended September 30, 2006 to 3.57% for the same period in 2007.

Average interest-earning assets increased by $90.7 million compared to the prior year. This resulted in an increase in yield on earning assets of 44 basis points to 6.17% due to the addition of higher yielding assets. The cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased by 70 basis points to 3.33%. Short-term borrowing rates increased 59 basis points on average during 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. When combined with increases of $61.1 million in average borrowings and $15.2 million in average interest-bearing deposits, the result was increased interest expense of $16.0 million, to $66.9 million. Borrowings assumed in a previous acquisition were called, which reduced interest expense by $1.3 million in 2006 and $500,000 in 2007. The difference in the mix of deposits (migration to higher cost deposits) also contributed to higher interest expense.

The provision for loan losses was $1.8 million for fiscal 2007, compared to $1.2 million for the fiscal year ended 2006. Net charge-offs were $1.8 million for fiscal 2007. This included two relationships considered impaired and non-performing of $2.5 million at September 30, 2007. Net charge-offs related to these relationships were $216,000. Other net charge-offs of $1.5 million were primarily related to small business loans and consumer loans, which are considered to be a normal part of business operations

Non-interest income increased by $2.7 million, or 15.7% for the year ended September 30, 2007 compared to the same period the prior year. Investment management fees increased by $1.3 million due to fees earned by our investment management subsidiary, HVIA, reflecting a full year of operations. Increases in deposit service fees of $745,000, or 7.0% offset a decline in title insurance fees of $519,000, or 30.5% which reflected a slowdown in our local real estate markets. Income from Bank-owned Life Insurance (BOLI) increased by $403,000 due to death benefit proceeds received in the first fiscal quarter of 2007. Other non-interest income increased $741,000 primarily due to gains on the disposition of real estate of $212,000 in the first quarter of 2007, $219,000 in higher non-interest related loan fees and interest on a tax refund receivable of $274,000.

Total non-interest expense increased by $3.3 million, or 4.7%, to $74.6 million primarily due to increased marketing expenses of $1.8 million and professional fees of $383,000 (HVIA management fees). Compensation and benefits expense increased $1.3 million from the prior year due to savings from retirement plan changes implemented in the prior year, more than offset by scheduled salary increases, severance expense and higher incentive compensation. Stock-based compensation declined by $120,000 due to lower acceleration of vesting of restricted stock awards and ESOP forfeitures partially offset by a $177,000 increase in stock option expense. The ATM/debit card expense increase of $316,000 (higher volume) was offset by lower data and check processing expenses of $467,000 as we took our data processing operations in-house in November of 2005.

Provident New York Bancorp Press Release cont. 4

Other non-interest expenses increased by $370,000 mainly due to increases in business development and training expenses, courier and correspondent expenses, and regulatory assessments (the municipal bank has no FDIC assessment credit).

The Company’s effective tax rate for the year ended September 30, 2007 was 30.4%, compared to 31.4% for the year ended September 30, 2006. The lower rate reflects the higher utilization of tax-exempt securities and receipt of the non-taxable BOLI death benefit proceeds.

Additional information

The Company maintains two ESOP loans, which release a total of 188,000 shares per year. The Company’s first ESOP loan will be paid off as of December 31, 2007. As a result, after December 31, 2007, expense will be recorded on the annual release of only 50,000 shares.

In October of 2007, the Company received final payment from the Internal Revenue Service regarding the resolution of the initial disallowance, by the Internal Revenue Service, of certain expenses related to Warwick Community Bancorp, Inc.’s disposition of assets prior to its acquisition by the Company. In May, the Company recorded $591,000 in increased goodwill reflecting the effects of the pending settlement and in October 2007 recorded the receipt of the $3.7 million payment.

Consistent with its long-standing credit policies, Provident Bank does not originate or hold subprime mortgage loans, which we consider to be loans to borrowers with subprime credit scores combined with either high loan-to-value or high debt-to-income ratios. We also hold no subprime loans in our investment portfolio.

The Company renegotiated the earn-out provisions regarding HVIA and paid $750,000 to eliminate a five-year payout of up to $1.0 million. The payment was recorded as an addition to goodwill of the HVIA acquisition.

Note:

In addition to historical information, this earnings release may contain forward-looking statements. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that have been outlined in previously filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to those forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Headquartered in Montebello, New York, Provident Bank is an independent full-service community bank. Provident Bank operates 33 branches that serve the Hudson Valley region and Bergen County, New Jersey. The bank offers a complete line of commercial, retail and investment management and trust services. Visit the Provident Bank web site atwww.providentbanking.com.

Provident New York Bancorp Press Release cont. 5

Provident New York Bancorp and Subsidiaries

CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

(unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share data)

	2007			2006
Assets:
Cash and due from banks	$	48,891		$	57,293
Total securities		832,443			1,012,716
Loans held for sale		—			7,473
Loans:
One- to four-family residential mortgage loans		500,825			462,996
Commercial real estate, commercial business and construction loans		895,233			787,086
Consumer loans		242,000			223,476
Total loans, gross		1,638,058			1,473,558
Allowance for loan losses		(20,389	)		(20,373	)
Total loans, net		1,617,669			1,453,185
Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost		32,801			33,518
Premises and equipment, net		30,079			31,739
Goodwill		161,154			159,817
Other amortizable intangibles		11,041			14,189
Bank owned life insurance		40,818			39,308
Other assets		27,203			32,099
Total assets	$	2,802,099		$	2,841,337
Liabilities:
Deposits
Demand deposits	$	377,393		$	366,847
NOW deposits		148,875			153,732
Total transaction accounts		526,268			520,579
Savings		346,430			378,337
Money market deposits		277,793			238,977
Certificates of deposit		563,193			591,766
Total deposits		1,713,684			1,729,659
Borrowings		661,242			682,739
Mortgage escrow funds and other		22,084			23,653
Total liabilities		2,397,010			2,436,051
Stockholders’ equity		405,089			405,286
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	2,802,099		$	2,841,337
Shares of common stock outstanding at period end		41,230,618			42,699,046
Book value per share	$	9.82		$	9.49

Provident New York Bancorp Press Release cont. 6

Provident New York Bancorp and Subsidiaries

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(unaudited, in thousands, except share and per share data)

	Three Months Ended September 30,					Year Ended September 30,
	2007			2006		2007			2006
Interest and dividend income:
Loans and loan fees	$	29,093		$	25,690	$	109,940		$	95,531
Securities		9,341			10,373		39,264			38,565
Other earning assets		603			461		2,422			1,520
Total interest and dividend income		39,037			36,524		151,626			135,616
Interest expense:
Deposits		9,441			7,956		36,405			26,802
Borrowings		7,351			7,848		30,483			24,057
Total interest expense		16,792			15,804		66,888			50,859
Net interest income		22,245			20,720		84,738			84,757
Provision for loan losses		600			300		1,800			1,200
Net interest income after provision for loan losses		21,645			20,420		82,938			83,557
Non-interest income:
Deposit fees and service charges		2,956			2,791		11,434			10,689
Net gain (loss) on sales of securities		(11	)		—		(8	)		—
Title insurance fees		326			493		1,181			1,700
Bank owned life insurance		431			416		2,044			1,641
Investment Management Fees		715			622		2,821			1,490
Other		500			434		2,373			1,632
Total non-interest income		4,917			4,756		19,845			17,152
Non-interest expense:
Compensation and employee benefits		8,973			8,181		33,490			32,182
Stock-based compensation plans		1,420			1,317		5,706			5,826
Occupancy and office operations		2,766			2,826		11,436			11,435
Advertising and promotion		1,213			547		4,237			2,445
Professional fees		851			924		3,833			3,450
Data and check processing		671			636		2,621			3,088
Amortization of intangible assets		716			832		3,039			3,288
ATM/debit card expense		516			423		1,881			1,565
Other		1,920			1,968		8,347			7,977
Total non-interest expense		19,046			17,654		74,590			71,256
Income before income tax expense		7,516			7,522		28,193			29,453
Income tax expense		2,367			2,452		8,566			9,258
Net income	$	5,149		$	5,070	$	19,627		$	20,195
Per common share:
Basic earnings	$	0.13		$	0.12	$	0.48		$	0.49
Diluted earnings		0.13			0.12		0.48			0.49
Dividends declared		0.05			0.05		0.20			0.20
Weighted average common shares:
Basic		40,101,720			40,945,185		40,782,643			40,953,010
Diluted		40,543,035			41,407,390		41,266,816			41,441,859

Provident New York Bancorp Press Release cont. 7

Selected Financial Condition Data:	Three Months Ended
(in thousands except share and per share data)	09/30/07			06/30/07			03/31/07			12/31/06			09/30/06
	(In thousands)
End of Period
Total assets	$	2,802,099		$	2,782,801		$	2,801,365		$	2,796,454		$	2,841,337
Loans, gross (1)		1,638,058			1,613,841			1,560,393			1,506,380			1,473,558
Securities available for sale		794,997			794,949			844,271			881,106			951,729
Securities held to maturity		37,446			41,416			52,080			56,740			60,987
Bank owned life insurance		40,818			40,387			39,954			39,548			39,308
Goodwill		161,154			161,154			159,813			159,828			159,817
Other amortizable intangibles		11,041			11,782			12,556			13,358			14,189
Other non-earning assets		57,282			67,115			72,987			66,291			63,838
Deposits		1,713,684			1,748,827			1,740,305			1,726,186			1,729,659
Borrowings		661,242			595,411			618,643			623,250			682,739
Equity		405,089			402,318			412,638			411,280			405,286
Average Balances
Total assets	$	2,783,640		$	2,779,780		$	2,786,727		$	2,813,257		$	2,795,917
Loans, gross:
Real estate- residential mortgage		500,261			489,998			470,741			463,285			465,231
Real estate- commercial mortgage		539,618			541,364			535,178			529,781			528,225
Real estate- construction & land development		144,615			123,774			111,671			101,769			91,280
Commercial and industrial		205,832			197,493			181,204			165,120			156,737
Consumer loans		238,073			232,508			242,464			233,155			221,880
Loans total		1,628,399			1,585,137			1,541,258			1,493,110			1,463,353
Securities (taxable)		660,937			695,016			765,255			824,657			850,929
Securities (non-taxable)		156,328			149,125			140,987			139,876			128,257
Total earning assets		2,458,422			2,441,036			2,461,371			2,472,425			2,456,228
Non earning assets		325,218			338,744			325,356			340,832			339,689
Non-interest bearing checking		360,705			348,698			341,016			341,259			356,651
Interest bearing NOW accounts		152,926			160,187			153,105			149,311			153,653
Total transaction accounts		513,631			508,885			494,121			490,570			510,304
Savings (including mortgage escrow funds)		380,749			383,955			368,171			375,325			418,942
Money market deposits		266,714			256,541			250,347			238,079			246,471
Certificates of deposit		585,115			589,733			600,956			625,781			565,111
Total deposits		1,746,209			1,739,114			1,713,595			1,729,755			1,740,828
Total interest bearing deposits		1,385,504			1,390,416			1,372,579			1,388,496			1,384,177
Borrowings		612,274			593,467			637,472			657,269			631,760
Equity		401,617			409,528			411,611			406,927			396,263
Other comprehensive loss (SFAS 115), reflected in stockholders’ equity		(3,917	)		(4,696	)		(5,583	)		(6,013	)		(13,203	)
Selected Operating Data:
Condensed Tax Equivalent Income Statement
Interest and dividend income	$	39,037		$	37,986		$	37,265		$	37,340		$	36,524
Tax equivalent adjustment*		832			807			756			720			677
Interest expense		16,792			15,655			16,797			17,644			15,804
Net interest income (tax equivalent)		23,077			23,138			21,224			20,416			21,397
Provision for loan losses		600			400			400			400			300
Net interest income after provision for loan losses		22,477			22,738			20,824			20,016			21,097
Non-interest income		4,917			4,988			4,905			5,034			4,756
Non-interest expense		19,046			19,050			18,571			17,924			17,654
Income before income tax expense		8,348			8,676			7,158			7,126			8,199
Income tax expense (tax equivalent)		3,199			3,240			2,726			2,515			3,129
Net income	$	5,149		$	5,436		$	4,432		$	4,611		$	5,070

(1) Does not reflect allowance for loan losses of $20,389, $20,699, $20,435, $20,436 and $20,373.

* Tax exempt income assumed at a 35% federal rate.

Provident New York Bancorp Press Release cont. 8

	Three Months Ended
	09/30/07			06/30/07			03/31/07			12/31/06			09/30/06
Performance Ratios (annualized)
Return on Average Assets		0.73	%		0.78	%		0.64	%		0.65	%		0.72	%
Return on Average Equity		5.09	%		5.32	%		4.37	%		4.50	%		5.08	%
Non-Interest Income to Average Assets		0.70	%		0.72	%		0.71	%		0.71	%		0.67	%
Non-Interest Expense to Average Assets		2.71	%		2.75	%		2.70	%		2.53	%		2.51	%
Operating Efficiency		70.1	%		66.4	%		73.2	%		72.5	%		69.3	%
Analysis of Net Interest Income
Yield on:
Loans		7.18	%		7.15	%		7.11	%		7.08	%		7.06	%
Investment Securities- Tax Equivalent		4.94	%		4.87	%		4.80	%		4.62	%		4.48	%
Earning Assets- Tax Equivalent		6.43	%		6.37	%		6.26	%		6.11	%		6.01	%
Cost of:
Interest Bearing Deposits		2.70	%		2.60	%		2.61	%		2.61	%		2.28	%
Borrowings		4.76	%		4.50	%		5.07	%		5.14	%		4.93	%
Interest Bearing Liabilities		3.33	%		3.16	%		3.39	%		3.42	%		3.11	%
Net Interest Tax Equivalent:
Net Interest Rate Spread- Tax Equivalent Basis		3.10	%		3.21	%		2.88	%		2.69	%		2.90	%
Net Interest Margin- tax Equivalent Basis		3.72	%		3.80	%		3.50	%		3.28	%		3.46	%
Capital Information Data
Tier 1 Leverage Ratio- Bank Only		8.07	%		8.16	%		8.55	%		8.27	%		7.82	%
Tier 1 Risk-Based Capital- Bank Only	$	212,497		$	212,906		$	224,694		$	216,820		$	208,820
Total Risk-Based Capital- Bank Only		232,886			233,605			245,129			237,256			229,193
Tangible Capital Consolidated	$	233,662		$	230,175		$	240,269		$	238,943		$	233,121
Tangible Capital as a % of Tangible Assets Consolidated		8.88	%		8.75	%		9.14	%		9.11	%		8.74	%
Shares Outstanding		41,230,618			41,666,538			42,376,905			42,716,253			42,699,046
Shares Repurchased Per Stock Repurchase Program		46,490			757,500			354,400			—			35,623
Basic weighted common shares outstanding		40,101,720			40,722,093			41,144,852			41,168,880			40,945,185
Diluted common shares oustanding		40,543,035			41,223,958			41,672,245			41,861,358			41,407,390
Per Common Share:
Basic Earnings	$	0.13		$	0.13		$	0.11		$	0.11		$	0.12
Diluted Earnings		0.13			0.13			0.11			0.11			0.12
Dividends Paid		0.05			0.05			0.05			0.05			0.05
Book Value		9.82			9.66			9.74			9.63			9.49
Tangible Book Value		5.67			5.52			5.67			5.59			5.46
Asset Quality Measurements
Non-performing loans (NPLs): non-accrual	$	3,509		$	3,956		$	4,840		$	4,278		$	3,442
Non-performing loans (NPLs): still accruing		3,749			3,716			3,484			2,171			1,582
Non-performing assets (NPAs)		7,397			8,377			8,411			6,536			5,111
Net Charge-offs (recoveries)		910			136			401			337			(35	)
Net Charge-offs (recoveries) as % of average loans (annualized)		0.22	%		0.03	%		0.10	%		0.09	%		(0.01	)%
NPLs as % of total loans		0.44	%		0.48	%		0.53	%		0.43	%		0.34	%
NPAs as % of total assets		0.26	%		0.30	%		0.30	%		0.23	%		0.18	%
Allowance for loan losses as % of NPLs		281	%		270	%		245	%		317	%		406	%
Allowance for loan losses as % of total loans		1.26	%		1.28	%		1.31	%		1.36	%		1.38	%