First National Bank of Long Island opens its first Brooklyn branch in Bay Ridge

There’s a new kid on the block.

The First National Bank of Long Island, founded in 1927, and growing over the years to two branches each in Manhattan and Queens, and 40 on Long Island, has added its first one in Brooklyn.

The Bay Ridge branch, located on the corner of Fourth Avenue and 92nd Street, opened on Wednesday, October 17, and has already been embraced by locals according to President and CEO Michael Vittorio.

“The neighborhood has been treating us great,” he said. “Our trademark is personalization. We are known as the bank where everyone knows your name.”

Right now, the branch is offering several deals. Until Monday, December 12, it be running a promotion with higher interest rates on savings accounts and higher interest rates on time deposits. In addition, besides the special rate, by opening an account, customers can get a free gift, including Tupperware, flat screen television sets, Bose speakers and a garment steamer.

Currently, Vittorio said, the bank is “Targeting small business between half a million and $10 million in annual sales and middle market companies between $10 and $100 million in sales. We are also targeting professionals. By that, I mean doctors, lawyers, dentists and CPAs, and service-conscious consumers.”

Photo courtesy of The First National Bank of Long Island
Photo courtesy of The First National Bank of Long Island

First National Bank of Long Island offers unique services, Vittorio stressed. “How we differentiate ourselves is that we are an institution large enough to offer all the products and services any bank can offer to the local community and yet we are small enough to personalize our business approach,” he said, adding that he was happy to return to his home.  “It feels great. I was born in Brooklyn. My family was from Bedford-Stuyvesant so my roots really go back to Brooklyn. It’s absolutely great to have a branch here.”

The bank has been the recipient of prestigious awards. “Recently we received Sandler O’Neill’s All Star Award, an award based on the asset quality of the bank, growth, the profitability of bank and the capital position of bank,” Vittorio said. The bank has received the distinction six times, only one of two banks in the entire nation to receive it that many times.

Over the next decade, the bank’s intention is to build at least 10 branches in Queens and 10 branches in Brooklyn.

A grand opening party is slated for January.

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