Sterling Bancorp CEO Interview: Louis J. Cappelli

• On 3:46 pm EDT, Tuesday October 6, 2009

67 WALL STREET, New York - October 6, 2009 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Banks Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This 130 page feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics covered: Residential Mortgage Situation -- Regional Banks Mergers and Acquisitions Timing Strategy -- Commercial Mortgage Portfolio Decay -- Timing Of Commercial Mortgage Portfolio Bad Debt Write Offs-- FDIC Hit List For Bank Closings -- Mutual Holding Company Structure -- Interest Rate Scenarios -- Banking Pricing Power -- Expensive Bank Valuations -- Tangible Book As Guide For Bank Stock Pricing -- Distressed Sales Of Community and Regional Banks -- TARP Program -- Attitude Of Institutional Investors Towards Resurgence in Community Banking -- Unique Business Models -- Regional Bank Boards Looking For Exit

Companies include: BB and T (BBT); Colonial (CNB); First Niagara (FNFG); PNC (PNC); National City (NCC-PA); Harleysville National (HNBC); Citizens First Bancorp (CTZN); Regions Financial (RF); Bank of America (BAC); SunTrust Banks (STI); Pinnacle Financial (PNFP); Northwest Bancorp Inc. (NWSB); Beneficial (BNCL); Investor Savings Bancorp (ISBC); Territorial Bancorp (TBNK); FNB Bancorp (FNBG.OB); National Penn (NPBC); Trustco Bank (TRST); KeyBank (KEY); M and T Bank (MTB); New York Community Bancorp (NYB); Bank of New York Mellon (BK); Wells Fargo and Company (WFC); JPMorgan Chase and Co. (JPM); Wachovia (WB); Harleysville Savings Bank (HARL); SVB Financial (SIVB); Signature Bank (SBNY); Provident Bank (PBKS); Valley National Bank (VLY); Community Bank System (CBU); NBT Bankcorp (NBTB); Fulton (FULT); Citibank ©; Allied Irish (AIB); Bank of Hawaii (BOH); First Horizon Bank (FHN); Comerica (CMA); Synovus (SNV); Zions (ZION); South Financial Group (TSFG); Bancorp (TBBK); Legg Mason (LM); IBERIABANK Corp. (IBKC); Wilmington Trust (WL); S and T Bancorp (STBA); PHH (PHH); Goldman Sachs (GS); Citigroup ©; U.S. Bancorp (USB); Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB); KeyCorp (KEY); Lehman Brothers; Colonial; Washington Mutual; TD Banknorth (TD), Lakeland (LBAI), Westfield Financial, Inc. (WFD), United Financial Bancorp, Inc. (UBNK), Chicopee Bancorp, Inc. (CBNK)

In the following brief excerpt from the 130 page, Louis J. Cappelli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bancorp, discuss the outlook for the sector and for investors.

Louis J. Cappelli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bancorp, graduated from the City College of New York in 1958 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He joined Sterling soon after graduation from high school, answering a New York Times ad for a messenger/mail clerk position. Thus began a remarkable career path - Mr. Cappelli has spent his entire professional career at Sterling, guiding its growth to over $2 billion in assets and is only the second Chairman in the company's 80-year history.

TWST: Let's start off with a general overview and a summary of Sterling Bancorp?

Mr. Cappelli: Sterling is a banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. We conduct business in the New York metropolitan area and elsewhere in the country. Sterling has been in business for 80 years and has assets in excess of $2 billion. While our primary activities are business focused, we operate a franchise of retail branches as well. We believe Sterling

is quite unique, thanks to our ability to provide our clients with high-touch community bank service along with an extensive product portfolio. Sterling provides traditional commercial lending, asset-based lending, factoring, payroll funding, trade finance, leasing, select commercial real estate financing and deposit, trust and cash management services. In addition, we have a residential

mortgage company where we primarily create and sell the mortgages to investors. So if a customer needs a particular type of banking product or service, we have it all. All of Sterling's products are managed from respective units headed up

by experts in that particular field. So we fully understand these various lending activities at a very high level.

TWST: What are the key factors that differentiate your bank from its competition? Is it the business focus, the geography, quality of your assets? What might some of those factors be?

Mr. Cappelli: With what's going on in the banking community today, I'd say that the quality of our assets is notable. We do not have a significant portfolio of commercial real estate loans, and so we've been able to avoid meaningful exposure in this area. We also don't have exposure in other high-risk areas, such as home equity and auto loans or credit cards. So we have been able to

avoid some of those pitfalls. The banking activities in New York City are concentrated primarily in the major institutions, and we've been able to carve out a niche in small and middle-market banking activities, and have thrived there. We are very hands-on. We give a high level of personal service and can react quickly to our client's needs. Small and middle-market businesses are usually entrepreneurial. We have found these business owners, who have worked hard to build their companies, respect and enjoy having the kind of a relationship Sterling offers as opposed to a revolving door of bank officers. Here's where we have distinguished ourselves from the larger institutions - these clients do not want to continually have to train and orient new banking

officers in relation to their business activities.

The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This 130 page special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online .

The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations.

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