NEWS RELEASE

CONTACT: Jean Quinn, Vice President, Corporate Communications
         The Provident Bank
         (201) 915-5490

FOR RELEASE 8:00 A.M. Eastern Time: February 3, 2010


            Provident Financial Services, Inc. and The Provident Bank
               Name Thomas B. Hogan Jr. to the Board of Directors

JERSEY CITY, NJ February 3, 2010  /PRNewswire-First  Call/ - Provident Financial
Services,  Inc.  (NYSE:PFS) (the "Company") today announced that Thomas B. Hogan
Jr. has been  named to the Boards of  Directors  of the  Company  and its wholly
owned subsidiary, The Provident Bank.

Thomas  B.  Hogan Jr. is the  retired  former  chief  operating  officer  of the
northeast  practice area of the  international  public accounting and consulting
firm of  Deloitte  & Touche.  During  the  course  of his  40-year  career  with
Deloitte,  Mr.  Hogan also  served as the  managing  partner  of its  Rochester,
Pittsburgh,  St.  Louis and New  Jersey  offices  where he was  responsible  for
maintaining the firm's  standards of client service  excellence,  as well as the
leadership and development of partners and staff.

Mr.  Hogan is a graduate  of St.  John Fisher  College,  and has also  completed
numerous courses of study in the Northwestern  University  Executive Program. He
has served in  leadership  positions  on the boards of  numerous  not-for-profit
organizations, including Junior Achievement of New Jersey.

"We are particularly pleased to have Tom Hogan join our board," said Christopher
Martin,  the  Company's  president  and chief  executive  officer.  "His diverse
background and broad experience with a renowned public accounting firm will be a
tremendous  asset to us. I'm sure Tom will play a pivotal  role in  helping  the
Board of Directors guide Provident for many years to come."

Provident Financial Services, Inc., which reported assets of $6.84 billion as of
December 31, 2009,  is the holding  company for The Provident  Bank.  Founded in
1839, the bank has 82 branches throughout northern and central New Jersey.

This news release may contain a number of  forward-looking  statements,  as that
term is defined in the Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking  statements are subject to risks and  uncertainties  which could
cause actual results to differ  materially from those currently  anticipated due




to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, factors discussed
in documents  filed by the Company with the Securities  and Exchange  Commission
from  time to time.  The  Company  undertakes  no  obligation  to  update  these
forward-looking  statements to reflect events or circumstances  that occur after
the date on which such  statements  were made.  You may access the  filings  and
other   financial   and   business   information   regarding   the   Company  at
www.providentnj.com.