Sterling National Bank Appoints Mark Cargo as Vice

MONTEBELLO, NY --(Marketwired - March 06, 2017) - Sterling National Bank, the principal subsidiary of Sterling Bancorp ( NYSE : STL ), announced today that Mark Cargo has joined the bank's Public Sector Finance team as Managing Director and Vice President. Cargo will report to Michael Horkey, Senior Managing Director at Sterling.

Cargo will be responsible for managing and developing loan portfolios, deposits and other products and services. He will also focus on business development and client cross sell activities and support underwriting, portfolio administration and cash management functions.

Cargo was most recently a regional manager with Oracle Financing, where he was responsible for sales in the public sector, higher education, and healthcare markets. Previously, he was a senior vice president and regional sales manager with SunTrust Equipment Finance and Leasing Corp., where he lead a top-producing team in the public finance sector which also included a higher education specialty market. Cargo has also held positions with IBM Global Finance, Hewlett Packard Financial Services and Key Equipment Finance.

"We are very pleased to welcome Mark to the team," said David S. Bagatelle, Executive Vice President and President-New York Metro Market at Sterling. "He brings years of experience in developing portfolios and a client-centered approach that will help further strengthen our client relationships and build on our portfolio of services."

Cargo is a graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

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.