Thomas Pergola Joins Sterling National Bank's Comm

MONTEBELLO, NY --(Marketwired - March 20, 2017) - Sterling National Bank, the principal subsidiary of Sterling Bancorp ( NYSE : STL ), announced today that Thomas Pergola has joined its Commercial Banking team as Senior Vice President and Managing Director. He will report to Ray Guanlao, Senior Manager Director and Team Leader at Sterling.

Pergola will aid in managing team sales and service efforts to grow and retain Sterling's valued client relationships. He will maintain a portfolio of relationships with target segments that lead to loans, deposits and other revenue generating products and services.

Pergola has extensive experience in client management, real estate financing and commercial lending. He most recently was Senior Vice President of BankUnited, where he specialized in managing a portfolio of real estate clients and high quality loan assets. Prior to joining BankUnited, he was Senior Vice President of JPMorgan Chase Bank, where he oversaw investment real estate transactions for the Northeast middle market.

"We are excited to welcome Thomas to the Sterling family. He brings unparalleled experience in growing client relationships and supporting new business initiatives," said David S. Bagatelle, Executive Vice President and President-New York Metro Market at Sterling. "As a seasoned banking executive, he brings financing acumen that will exceptionally benefit client offerings and support the growth of the bank."

Pergola graduated from Rider University with a bachelor's 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.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/3...57e47b.jpg