Signature Bank Announces Internet Availability of Annual Shareholders’ Meeting Proxy Materials for Fiscal Year 2010

NEW YORK--()--Signature Bank (Nasdaq:SBNY), a New York-based full-service commercial bank, announced today that the Bank’s proxy materials for its 2011 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are now available via the Internet under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Notice and Access Rule.

Under the Notice and Access rule, companies may furnish proxy materials to shareholders via the Internet as an alternative to the traditional mail delivery of printed materials. Shareholders as of the March 1, 2011 record date for the Annual Meeting will be mailed a "Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials." This notice will provide the Internet website address where the proxy materials can be viewed and shares can be voted. It will also include instructions for requesting a paper copy of the proxy materials via telephone, Internet website or email. By implementing the Notice and Access rule, Signature Bank was able to considerably reduce the number of printed copies of its annual report and proxy materials that it would produce, thereby lowering production and delivery costs as well as minimizing the impact on the environment from its Annual Meeting.

Signature Bank’s 2011 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) at The Roosevelt Hotel, 45 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017, (212) 661-9600.

Signature Bank’s 2010 annual report and proxy statement for the 2011 Annual Meeting can also be viewed on the Company's website by visiting http://investor.signatureny.com/annuals.cfm.

About Signature Bank

Signature Bank, member FDIC, a New York-based full-service commercial bank with 24 private client offices throughout the New York metropolitan area, serves the needs of privately owned businesses, their owners and senior managers through dozens of private client groups. The Bank offers a wide variety of business and personal banking products and services as well as investment, brokerage, asset management and insurance products and services through its subsidiary, Signature Securities Group Corporation, a licensed broker-dealer, investment adviser and member FINRA/SIPC.

Signature Bank's 24 offices are located: In Manhattan - 261 Madison Avenue; 300 Park Avenue; 71 Broadway; 565 Fifth Avenue; 950 Third Avenue; 200 Park Avenue South; 1020 Madison Avenue and 50 West 57th Street. Brooklyn - 26 Court Street; 84 Broadway and 6321 New Utrecht Avenue. Westchester - 1C Quaker Ridge Road, New Rochelle and 360 Hamilton Avenue, White Plains. Long Island - 1225 Franklin Avenue, Garden City; 279 Sunrise Highway, Rockville Centre; 68 South Service Road, Melville; 923 Broadway, Woodmere; 40 Cuttermill Road, Great Neck and 100 Jericho Quadrangle, Jericho. Queens - 36-36 33rd Street, Long Island City; 78-27 37th Avenue, Jackson Heights and 8936 Sutphin Blvd., Jamaica. Bronx - 421 Hunts Point Avenue, Bronx. Staten Island - 2066 Hylan Blvd.

Since commencing operations in May 2001, the Bank has grown to $11.7 billion in assets, $9.44 billion in deposits, $944.5 million in equity capital and $1.86 billion in other assets under management as of December 31, 2010. Signature Bank’s Tier 1 and risk-based capital ratios are significantly above the levels required to be considered well capitalized.

For more information, please visit www.signatureny.com.

This press release and oral statements made from time to time by our representatives contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our future results, interest rates and the interest rate environment, loan and deposit growth, loan performance, operations, competition, capitalization, new private client team hires, new office openings, the regulatory environment and business strategy. These statements often include words such as "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or other similar expressions. As you consider forward-looking statements, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited to: (i) prevailing economic and regulatory conditions; (ii) changes in interest rates, loan demand, real estate values and competition, which can materially affect origination levels and gain on sale results in our business, as well as other aspects of our financial performance; (iii) the level of defaults, losses and prepayments on loans made by us, whether held in portfolio or sold in the whole loan secondary markets, which can materially affect charge-off levels and required credit loss reserve levels; and (iv) competition for clients, loans, deposits, qualified personnel and desirable office locations. Additional risks are described in our quarterly and annual reports filed with the FDIC. You should keep in mind that any forward-looking statements made by Signature Bank speak only as of the date on which they were made. New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and we cannot predict these events or how they may affect the Bank. Signature Bank has no duty to, and does not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements after the date on which they are made. In light of these risks and uncertainties, you should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made in this release or elsewhere might not reflect actual results.

Contacts

Signature Bank
Investor Contact:
Eric R. Howell, 646-822-1402
Chief Financial Officer
ehowell@signatureny.com
or
Media Contact:
Susan J. Lewis, 646-822-1825
slewis@signatureny.com

Release Summary

SIGNATURE BANK ANNOUNCES INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS’ MEETING PROXY MATERIALS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010

Contacts

Signature Bank
Investor Contact:
Eric R. Howell, 646-822-1402
Chief Financial Officer
ehowell@signatureny.com
or
Media Contact:
Susan J. Lewis, 646-822-1825
slewis@signatureny.com