Hanover Bank bets on Riverhead’s redevelopment with new Osborn Avenue branch

Hanover Bank has opened a new branch and business center at 205 Osborn Avenue in Riverhead, bringing a new competitor to a banking market its leaders say has lost some of its local institutions through consolidation.

The Riverhead office will be Hanover’s 11th location and its third in Suffolk County, joining banking centers in Hauppauge and Port Jefferson. 

Chairman and CEO Michael Puorro sees an opportunity in Riverhead’s redevelopment, its businesses and its role as the Suffolk County seat.

“Riverhead’s undergoing…a significant economic redevelopment transformation,” Puorro said in a Sept. 22 interview. “I consider it one of the hubs of Suffolk County,” he said, comparing it to Hauppauge and Melville. 

“This entire redevelopment project presents growth opportunities for us in terms of our ability to serve the consumer, businesses, and government entities,” he said. “It’s a unique opportunity for us to assist in the entire transformation of Riverhead.”

Hanover is entering the East End market with a familiar figure in Long Island banking. Kevin O’Connor, who became the bank’s president in July, previously led Bridgehampton National Bank and later Dime Community Bank after the two institutions merged. He also served as Valley Bank’s Long Island market president. 

O’Connor said in a Sept. 23 interview  the changing banking landscape has creates “an energy and opportunity for a bank this size on Long Island” Hanover’s announcement of his appointment details his banking career.

Both executives say the Osborn Avenue office is designed to do more than handle routine transactions. 

““It’s not just a branch,” O’Connor said. Hanover calls it a business banking center: Retail employees and commercial lenders will work in the same location, giving a business owner a chance to discuss financing with a lender on site. Puorro estimated the Riverhead office would have about six employees.

That model, he said, could matter to East End businesses whose revenue rises and falls with the seasons. Hotels and tourism businesses, for example, may need financing structured around a different cash flow cycle from that of a year-round manufacturer. “They have different cash flow needs,” O’Connor said.

Puorro said Hanover also sees opportunities to work with contractors and municipal entities. He said the bank already serves about 50 municipal customers. Its lending includes business and commercial real estate loans, Small Business Administration loans and residential mortgage products for borrowers, including business owners, who may not fit conventional mortgage requirements.

Founded in 2009, Puorro led its recapitalization in 2012 after he took the helm. “Hanover was the last charter given by the DFS before the financial crisis in 2009.The bank needed fresh capital when Puorro joined the bank in 2012, he said.  

“I’ve spent my whole career in finance, raising capital. So, I talked to the regulators at the time, and told the regulators that I could raise capital and grow the bank. And I guess the proof’s in the pudding,” he said. “We have grown from $57 million to $2.4 billion with a market cap of $200 million,” Puorro said. 

Hanover acquired Chinatown Federal Savings Bank in 2019 and Savoy Bank in 2021. It went public in 2022, according to the bank’s website. 

The bank’s leaders describe local knowledge and access to decision-makers as Hanover’s advantage.  

“We don’t look at it as a one-off transaction,” Puorro said. The bank wants an ongoing relationship with its customers, he said.

O’Connor, citing consolidations, expansions and out-of-state banks opening branches on Long Island, said the banking landscape has changed here.

“There’s an energy and opportunity for a bank this size on Long Island,” O’Connor said.

“We’re the last hometown bank. I’m excited about what we can do,” he said. 

The Riverhead location will not be “just a branch,” O’Connor said. “It’s a full service location.”

O’Connor recalled how long Bridgehampton National Bank had wanted to open a full-service branch in Riverhead. Banking regulations prevented another national bank from opening a branch in the hometown of Suffolk County National Bank, which was headquartered here. That barrier fell when SCNB merged into Bridgeport, Connecticut-based People’s United Bank in April 2017. BNB opened its first full-service Riverhead branch the following month.

BNB later joined Dime Community Bank in a 2021 merger. This June, Dime Community Bank changed its name to Dime Commercial Bank, reflecting a commercial banking strategy the bank said was already underway.

Now O’Connor is helping another bank establish itself in Riverhead. “I’m excited about what we can do,” he said.