NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           Nasdaq:  PBCP
Tuesday, April 29, 2003                         Traded on Nasdaq National Market

CONTACT:
Paul A. Maisch, SVP & CFO
Roberta Lenett, VP & Manager of Shareholder Relations
(845) 369-8082

                           PROVIDENT BANCORP DECLARES
                      QUARTERLY DIVIDEND OF $0.15 PER SHARE

MONTEBELLO,  NY - April 29, 2003 -- Provident Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:  PBCP), the
parent company of Provident  Bank,  today  announced that the Board of Directors
has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share.  This  represents the
tenth consecutive increase in as many quarters.  The dividend is payable May 22,
2003 to holders of record as of May 8, 2003.

George Strayton,  the Company's  President and CEO commented,  "I am pleased the
continued earnings allow the bank to increase the dividend.  We hope to continue
to provide our shareholders with a quality investment."

Provident  Bank is a  community  bank with $1  billion  in assets  and  operates
eighteen branches in Rockland and Orange Counties, New York. Provident Municipal
Bank, its commercial bank  subsidiary,  provides  banking  services to towns and
government agencies in its market area.















Note:
In addition to historical information, this press 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 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.