Heritage Bank (In Organization) Achieves Minimum Capital Commitment Goal of $60MM

Heritage Bank, N.A. (In Organization) announced today that it has garnered commitments and subscriptions in excess of the $60 million minimum it seeks to meet regulatory approval conditions.

Heritage Bank’s $60 million-plus capital raise will represent a record for stand-alone start-up bank in the State of New York, where the bank is to be headquartered. A key component in the bank’s successful capital raise strategy was securing investments from multiple institutions, including asset management firm FrontPoint Partners LLC, a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, and private equity fund Carpenter Community BancFund (an affiliate of Carpenter & Company), who have each committed to purchase a 9.9% share of the total offering. An additional commitment of $2.25 million was received from private equity firm BH Equity Research (via the Context BH Equity Fund I, LP). The bank’s investor base also includes its executives, board members and individual investors representing the business communities the bank will serve.

"Exceeding our minimum target level of commitments and subscriptions pushes the bank into the final phase of our opening preparations,” said David S. Bagatelle, President and CEO of Heritage Bank. “While we are focused on collecting our most recent subscriptions, we are receptive to inquiries from any additional individuals and firms who are motivated by the opportunity presented by current conditions in the banking industry,”

Daniel M. Healy, Executive Chairman of Heritage Bank and its Board of Directors added, “From the beginning it has been clear that the New York metropolitan area would benefit greatly from a new bank, and there‘s probably never been as opportune a time to open one in this market. We’ll have great advantages opening with a clean balance sheet, experienced management, strong operating systems, excellent bankers and the right business plan.”

Heritage Bank is offering a minimum of 6 million and a maximum of 8.5 million shares of common stock at a price of $10.00 per share. To participate in the offering, investors must subscribe to a minimum investment of $25,000 (2,500 shares). The bank has set the target for total initial capital raised at $60-85 million, with a secondary target of $102 million inclusive of an over-allotment.

During the course of the summer, Heritage Bank hosted 30 public investor meetings for individual investors throughout the New York metro area, attended by approximately 1,000 individuals. The final such event was held earlier this month; however, individual investors and firms interested in participating prior to the closing of the offering can schedule a meeting via the Heritage Bank website at www.HeritageBankNY.com/events.htm.

About Heritage Bank

Led by an experienced team of metropolitan New York banking executives, the goal of Heritage Bank is to become a premier, relationship-based institution with a focus on the small to mid-size corporate and high net worth personal markets in the New York metropolitan area.

David S. Bagatelle will serve as President and Chief Executive Officer. Bagatelle is a former Executive Vice President of Signature Bank and was a member of its founding group. Daniel M. Healy will serve as Executive Chairman of Heritage Bank and its Board of Directors. He is a former North Fork Bancorporation Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and director. The Vice Chairman of the Board is Raymond A. Nielsen, who was the former lead-independent director at North Fork and the former President, Chief Executive Officer and director of Reliance Bancorp.

Heritage Bank received conditional approval of its charter application on June 12, 2008 from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as well as conditional approval of its FDIC application on July 2, 2008. The conditions of the approval were standard: raising the bank’s minimum capital of $60 million and passing a final field examination just prior to opening. Subject to final regulatory approvals, the Bank proposes to begin operations in the Fall of 2008. Its initial offices will be located in midtown Manhattan, Long Island and Brooklyn, New York; each office will contain multiple commercial and private banking teams.

Please visit www.HeritageBankNY.com for additional information.

This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy stock of Heritage Bank, N.A. (In Organization), which will be made only by means of the Bank’s prospectus filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. To the extent that this press release contains forward looking statements, those statements will be subject to the limitations contained in the prospectus.