Provident New York Bancorp Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 Per Share

MONTEBELLO, N.Y. -- Provident New York Bancorp (Nasdaq: PBNY), the parent company of Provident Bank, today announced that the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share, which represents an increase of 11% over the previous quarter's dividend and a 25% increase from the November 2004 dividend. The dividend is payable November 17, 2005 to holders of record as of November 7, 2005.

Provident Bank is a community bank with $2.6 billion in assets and operates thirty four branches in Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, Putnam and Ulster Counties, New York and a branch in Bergen County, New Jersey. Provident Municipal Bank, its commercial bank subsidiary, provides banking services to towns and government agencies in its New York market area.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.