EXHIBIT 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
Hudson Valley Holding Corp. Stephen R. Brown
21 Scarsdale Road Senior EVP, CFO & Treasurer
Yonkers, NY 10707 (914) 771-3212 (Earnings)
Wendy Croker
First VP, Shareholder Relations
(914) 771-3214 (Dividend)
HUDSON VALLEY HOLDING CORP. REPORTS RISE IN FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS
AND ANNOUNCES INCREASE IN CASH DIVIDEND
YONKERS, NY, May 6, 2008...James J. Landy, President and Chief Executive Officer
of Hudson Valley Holding Corp., has announced a 1.2% increase in earnings for
the first three months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.
Continuing its trend of record earnings, Hudson Valley reported earnings for the
first three months of 2008 were $8.4 million, compared to $8.3 million for the
first quarter of 2007. Diluted earnings per share were $0.82 for both the
current and prior year periods.
"We believe this is an extremely positive result in light of the overall economy
and the continued reverberations from the sub prime market," Mr. Landy said.
"Hudson Valley did not participate in the sub prime market as a lender nor did
we invest in any related securities in our investment portfolio. As a result,
our financial position and lending capacity remain strong." In January, Hudson
Valley announced that 2007 was its 31st consecutive year of record earnings.
"Our earnings growth is primarily the result of strong loan demand, as well as
growth in our deposits and our investment management services," Mr. Landy said.
As of March 31, 2008, assets totaled $2.3 billion, deposits totaled $1.8 billion
and net loans totaled $1.4 billion.
"Since December 31, 2007, Hudson Valley's loan portfolio increased by 5.4% and
core deposits, excluding temporary deposits, grew by 3.7%, both of which are
contrary to what is generally happening in the banking industry today," Mr.
Landy noted.
Noting the continued excellent performance of the Company, William E. Griffin,
Chairman of the Board, announced that the Board of Directors has declared a cash
dividend of $0.51 per share payable to all shareholders of record as of the
close of business May 16, 2008. The dividend will be distributed to shareholders
on or about May 23, 2008. The previous quarterly dividend was $0.50 per share.
"At the same time, Hudson Valley continues to invest in its future," according
to Mr. Landy. "In December, 2007, we opened our first branch in Connecticut in
Stamford, and have announced plans for additional new branches in Connecticut
and Brooklyn, NY, and we are currently looking at other new branch locations. As
we move into new markets, we are also expanding our staff, by hiring local
bankers to serve these local communities.
We believe investing in the people and businesses in the communities we serve is
what community banking is all about."
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Hudson Valley Holding Corp. (HUVL), headquartered in Yonkers, NY, is the parent
company of two independently owned local banks, Hudson Valley Bank (HVB) and New
York National Bank (NYNB). Hudson Valley Bank is a Westchester based bank with
more than $2 billion in assets, serving the metropolitan area with 26 branches
located in Westchester, Rockland, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens, NY, and in
Fairfield County, CT. HVB specializes in providing a full range of financial
services to businesses, professional services firms, not-for-profit
organizations and individuals; and provides investment management services
through a subsidiary, A. R. Schmeidler & Co., Inc. NYNB is a Bronx based bank
with approximately $140 million in assets serving the local communities of the
Bronx, Upper Manhattan and Roosevelt Island with five branches. NYNB provides a
full range of financial services to individuals, small businesses and
not-for-profit organizations in its local markets. Hudson Valley Holding Corp.'s
stock is traded under the ticker symbol "HUVL" on the OTC Bulletin Board.
Additional information on Hudson Valley Bank and New York National Bank can be
obtained on their respective web-sites at www.hudsonvalleybank.com and
www.nynb.com
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This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements refer to future events or our future financial performance. We have
attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including
"anticipates," "believes," "can," "continue," "expects," "intends," "may,"
"plans," "potential," "predicts," "should" or "will" or the negative of these
terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
our or the banking industry's actual results, level of activity, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results, level of
activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, material adverse changes in Hudson Valley Bank's
operations or earnings, or a decline in the economy in the New York Metropolitan
area. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking
statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements.