Sterling Bancorp and Hudson Valley Holding jointly announced they have received the approval of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to consummate the merger of Hudson Valley with and into Sterling. The transaction was previously approved by the shareholders of both companies, as well as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Subject to the satisfaction of the remaining conditions set forth in the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 4, 2014 between Sterling and Hudson Valley, the merger is expected to be completed on June 30, 2015. The merger agreement provides that, upon consummation of the merger, each share of Hudson Valley common stock will be converted into the right to receive 1.92 shares of Sterling common stock.

The combined company will operate under the Sterling Bancorp name and its principal banking subsidiary will operate under the name Sterling National Bank. Upon completion of the merger, the company will have approximately $11.2 billion in assets, $6.9 billion in gross loans, and deposits of more than $8.4 billion, and have a footprint spanning New York City, Westchester County, the Hudson Valley, Long Island and New Jersey.