Signature Bank Investment Grade Ratings Affirmed by Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc.

Signature Bank Investment Grade Ratings Affirmed by Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc.

For Second Consecutive Year, Kroll Gives Bank High Marks

Signature Bank (Nasdaq: SBNY), a New York-based full-service commercial bank, announced today that Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), a full-service rating agency, affirmed the following investment grade ratings to the Bank, based on KBRA’s Global Bank and Bank Holding Company Rating Methodology, which evaluates liquidity, asset quality, capital adequacy and earnings:

This is the second consecutive year for which Signature Bank received these same investment grade ratings from Kroll. According to KBRA, Signature Bank’s ratings were supported by its solid fundamentals, including strong earnings, a healthy liquidity position and sound capital ratios. Furthermore, the ratings were reinforced by the Bank’s veteran management team, its disciplined underwriting practices and financial results that consistently outperformed that of its peer group, particularly during recent economic downturns.

“Since our inception 15 years ago, we have always emphasized depositor safety as the most important aspect of our client-centric philosophy. This focus has been at the core of our founding model, which was built on a relationship-based, single-point-of-contact banking approach that is executed by teams of seasoned, private client bankers. The stable, solid results Signature Bank has continued to deliver – year after year, quarter after quarter – is in fact what earned us high marks again this year from Kroll. We are pleased that Kroll recognizes the value of our model and sees the benefits it has reaped time and again for this institution, our clients and our shareholders,” stated Joseph J. DePaolo, president and chief executive officer.

About Signature Bank

Signature Bank, member FDIC, is a New York-based full-service commercial bank with 30 private client offices throughout the New York metropolitan area, including those in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Westchester, Long Island, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and Connecticut. The Bank’s growing network of private client banking teams serves the needs of privately owned businesses, their owners and senior managers.

Signature Bank offers a wide variety of business and personal banking products and services. Its specialty finance subsidiary, Signature Financial, LLC, provides equipment finance and leasing. Signature Securities Group Corporation, a wholly owned Bank subsidiary, is a licensed broker-dealer, investment adviser and member FINRA/SIPC, offering investment, brokerage, asset management and insurance products and services.

Since commencing operations in May 2001, the Bank has grown to $37.79 billion in assets, $31.40 billion in deposits, $3.56 billion in equity capital and $4.59 billion in other assets under management as of September 30, 2016. Signature Bank's Tier 1 and risk-based capital ratios are significantly above the levels required to be considered well capitalized.

Signature Bank ranked sixth best on Forbes' Best and Worst Banks in America 2016 list and was recently named Best Business Bank for the third consecutive year by the New York Law Journal in the publication’s seventh annual reader survey. The Bank also ranked second in the Best Private Bank and Best Attorney Escrow Services categories in the listing.

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. You should not place undue reliance on those statements because they are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and may be beyond our control. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our future results, interest rates and the interest rate environment, loan and deposit growth, loan performance, operations, new private client teams and other hires, new office openings and business strategy. These statements often include words such as "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," “potential,” “opportunity,” “could,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” would,” "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 and can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us or in our control. These factors include but are not limited to: (i) prevailing economic conditions; (ii) changes in interest rates, loan demand, real estate values and competition, any of which can materially affect origination levels and gain on sale results in our business, as well as other aspects of our financial performance, including earnings on interest-bearing assets; (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; (iv) changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; (v) changes in the banking and other financial services regulatory environment and (vi) competition for qualified personnel and desirable office locations. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, beliefs and expectations, if a change occurs or our beliefs, assumptions and expectations were incorrect, our business, financial condition, liquidity or results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. 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.

Signature Bank
Investor Contact:
Eric R. Howell, 646-822-1402
Executive Vice President –
Corporate and Business Development
ehowell@signatureny.com
or
Media Contact:
Susan J. Lewis, 646-822-1825
slewis@signatureny.com

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