Juan V. Ruiz Joins Sterling National Bank's Factoring & Trade Finance Team

MONTEBELLO, NY--(Marketwired - April 03, 2017) - Sterling National Bank, the principal subsidiary of Sterling Bancorp (NYSE: STL), announced today that Juan V. Ruiz has joined its Factoring & Trade Finance department as Vice President and Managing Director.

Ruiz will focus on developing new client relationships and helping build on the unit's growth and profitability across its national footprint. "Juan brings a new perspective to help us diversify our product offering beyond our traditional factoring marketplace," said John La Lota, President of the Factoring and Trade Finance division.

Ruiz has years of experience in structured finance and corporate development. He most recently was Managing Director at Wynston Hill Capital LLC, where he specialized in investment banking, private equity capital, and M&A advisory. He has also held senior positions with several financial institutions including Anvil Capital Advisors LLC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, American Industrial Acquisition Corporation and Goldman Sachs & Co.

"Juan's addition to the team reflects Sterling's deep commitment to building on our factoring and trade finance expertise and our focus on relationship banking," said Tom Geisel, President of Specialty Finance. "His experience in delivering best-in-class-service will be a great asset to the organization as we continue to expand our capabilities."

Ruiz has a bachelor's degree in Economics from Brown University, an MBA in Finance from Indiana University, and is a member of the Wharton Fellows program at the Wharton School of Business.

About Sterling National Bank
Sterling National Bank, the principal subsidiary of Sterling Bancorp, specializes in the delivery of service and solutions to business owners, their families, and consumers in communities within the greater New York City area through teams of dedicated and experienced relationship managers. Sterling National Bank offers a complete line of commercial, business, and consumer banking products and services. For more information, visit www.snb.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may concern Sterling's current expectations about its future results, plans, operations and prospects and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including inflation; the effects of, and changes in, trade; changes in asset quality and credit risk; introduction, withdrawal, success and timing of business initiatives; capital management activities; customer disintermediation; and the success of Sterling at managing these risks. Other factors that could cause Sterling's actual results to differ from those indicated in forward-looking statements are included in the "Risk Factors" section of Sterling's securities filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included herein are only made as of the date hereof, and Sterling specifically disclaims any obligation to update these statements in the future.

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