STNJ Sterling Bank (MM)

Sterling Bank Sells Additional Shares In Recent Common Stock Offering MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sterling Bank (NASDAQ:STNJ) today announced that it has completed its public offering of a total of 1,437,500 shares of common stock, including the previously announced sale of 1,250,000 shares at a price of $9.75 per share. The additional 187,500 shares represented the full exercise of the option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC was the managing underwriter of the offering. The common shares of Sterling Bank trade on the Nasdaq Small Cap Market under the symbol "STNJ." The net proceeds from the offering, totaling approximately $12.8 million, which includes $1.7 million received upon the closing of the sale of the additional shares, will be added to the Bank's regulatory capital and will be used for expansion, including branch expansion, and general corporate purposes including, but not limited to, increased commercial and consumer lending and investment in securities. "The strong investor response to the second public offering of our common stock in less than two years is a very positive development. We are excited about the prospects provided by the enhanced level of capital now available to the Bank to support our continued expansion," commented Robert H. King, President and Chief Executive Officer. Sterling Bank is a community bank headquartered in Burlington County, New Jersey, with assets of $310 million as of March 31, 2005. Sterling Bank's main office is located in Mount Laurel, New Jersey and its five other Community Banking Centers are located in Burlington and Camden Counties in New Jersey. Additionally, Sterling Bank has announced a seventh retail branch to be located in Voorhees Township, Camden County, New Jersey, which is planned for opening in the third quarter of 2005, subject to receipt of appropriate regulatory approvals. Sterling Bank began operations in December 1990 with the purpose of serving consumers and small to medium-sized businesses in its market area. The Bank's deposits are insured to the applicable regulatory limits per depositor by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Sterling Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve System. This release may contain forward-looking statements. We caution that such statements may be subject to a number of uncertainties and actual results could differ materially and, therefore, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Readers should carefully review the risk factors described in the Bank's Offering Circular dated May 4, 2005, for the Bank's public offering of Common Stock and in other documents the Bank files from time to time with the Federal Reserve, including the Bank's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2004, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-QSB, and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Sterling Bank assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this release or elsewhere, except as required under applicable law. DATASOURCE: Sterling Bank CONTACT: Robert H. King, President, +1-856-273-5900 or , or R. Scott Horner, Executive Vice President, +1-856-273-5900 or , both of Sterling Bank Web site: http://www.sterlingnj.com/

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