Customers Bancorp in Pennsylvania Plans to Enter New York City

Another banker with a track record of building up companies, then selling them, is making a grand entrance into New York City.

Customers Bancorp (CUUU), led by Chairman and Chief Executive Jay Sidhu, has applied with the Federal Reserve Board to open an office at 99 Park Avenue in Manhattan. The application does not indicate if the location will house a branch or a loan production office.

The Wyomissing, Pa., company follows BankUnited (BKU), led by CEO John Kanas, in entering the lucrative New York market.

The office would be the first for Customers inside the city of New York; it has a branch in Rye Brook, N.Y., along with 13 branches in Pennsylvania and one in Hamilton, N.J.

Sidhu grew Sovereign Bancorp in Pennsylvania from $500 million of assets to $90 billion before resigning amid credit concerns. Now, he has built Customers into a $3.2 billion-asset bank through acquisitions and internal loan growth. Customers raised $100 million last year through private placements.

Recently, Sidhu has pressed for changes to the board of Atlantic Coast Financial (ACFC) in Jacksonville, Fla. Atlantic Coast in February agreed to sell itself to Bond Street Holdings for $13 million.

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