Provident New York Bancorp Named One of America's Most Trustworthy Companies

MONTEBELLO, NY--(Marketwire - Apr 26, 2012) - Provident New York Bancorp (NYSE: PBNY), parent company of Provident Bank, has been named one of America's 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in an annual survey commissioned by Forbes and prepared by GovernanceMetrics International (GMI), a global leader in corporate governance. The survey, now in its fifth year of publication, ranks the nation's top 100 companies that have "consistently demonstrated transparent and conservative accounting practices and solid corporate governance and management." "What these companies have in common is what they don't have: problems that indicate elevated risk," said GMI Chairman James A. Kaplan as quoted on Forbes.com.

Provident New York Bancorp was ranked in the Small-Cap Company category, and received an accounting and governance risk (AGR) score of 93 out of a possible 100, and an average score of 97 over the last four quarters. "We are gratified that our business practices have been recognized by Forbes and that Provident New York Bancorp has been named one of America's most trustworthy companies," said Jack L. Kopnisky, President and CEO of Provident Bank.

Forbes.com explains that GMI creates the list by examining more than 8,000 companies traded on U.S. exchanges. Every three months, it assigns each company an accounting and governance risk score, or AGR, based on proprietary modeling designed to identify practices that historically have had a high correlation with increasing shareholder risk.

Forbes.com further reports that in order to qualify for the roster, the 100 companies all had to have market caps of $250 million or more at the time the list was prepared (March 13, 2012), have maintained AGR ratings of "conservative" or "average" for the last four quarters, had no amended filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, no SEC enforcement actions, and no material restatements.

Headquartered in Montebello, N.Y., Provident Bank, with $3.2 billion in assets, specializes in the delivery of service and solutions to business owners, their families, and consumers in communities within the greater New York City marketplace through teams of dedicated and experienced relationship managers. Our franchise includes 36 Financial Centers. Provident Bank offers a complete line of commercial, business, and consumer banking products and services. For more information, visit the Provident Bank Web site at www.providentbanking.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS
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