Geevarghese (Mathew) Mathai, Executive Vice President & Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hanover Community Bank. 

In the midst of the economic challenges affecting the global growth, especially when the banking sector is facing severe credit crunch, Hanover Community Bank, located at 2131 Jericho Turnpike, Garden City Park, NY, made a bold decision by opening its doors for the first time to the public. “Being new in the market gives an added advantage as no other established Bank has had. We come to the market with no prior commitment or baggage, which helps us start anew in this difficult times, giving hope to our customers of a fresh start in all of their financial dealings,” said Geevarghese (Mathew) Mathai, Executive Vice President & Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hanover Community Bank. Mathew, along with Robert J. Long, was instrumental in establishing Hanover Community Bank, which opened its doors to the public in mid January this year.

The Hanover Community Bank is a commercial bank with a special focus on bringing back community banking to Long Island and the New York City area, offering a full array of financial products and highly personalized services to meet both the commercial and personal banking needs of its customers.

“A long cherished dream of the fast growing Indian American community in the state of New York is being realized with the launch of the Hanover Community Bank,” said Mathew. “While we have emerged as one of the most successful immigrant communities in the United States, we have not had a Bank we could call our own in the Empire State, focusing on to the needs of this vibrant community. This vacuum is being filled with the opening of our bank on Long Island.

” Mathew, who along with the Asian American community has provided nearly 70 percent of the Bank’s Capital, said,

BY AJAY GHOSH

“While we strive to cater to the specific needs of the South Asian community, our main objective is to achieve a competitive advantage in the marketplace. We offer customized services, reaching out to the South Asian community in a way that they cannot find anywhere else,” Mathew, while embarking on this new venture after nearly 20 years of illustrious experiences in the Mortgages and Financing Industry, said.

“Ours is the only bank by Indian Americans, focused on the specific needs of the South Asian community in New York with the state of the art technology along with unique marketing and training, which will set us apart from the competition,” Mathew, who has been actively involved in developing stronger community ties with the Asian Americans in New York, said.

A proud member of the relatively new immigrant community with very high income levels, education, and home ownership, Mathew understands the needs and aspirations of the Indian American community. The Bank has hired staff who understand and appreciate the community well. “The dedicated and trained staff with experiences in the finance sector understand, appreciate, and respond to the customers in several South Asian languages, making them feel at home, and letting them know that they are truly cared for and responding to their diverse needs, aspirations, and concerns is our topmost priority,” Mathew, who has been the principal loan originator and owned 50% of the Hanover Mortgage Corporation, said. Robert J. Long, Executive Vice President & Vice Chairman the Hanover Community Bank, said,

“Analyzing the market in which we operate will help us develop a more efficient and custom tailored business strategy. Hanover

Community Bank will position itself as a more value oriented solution to our customers on Long Island and the surrounding region by providing an exceptional, high quality, customer service experience.”

“After nearly three years of planning and hard work, Hanover Community Bank received the FDIC Insurance approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC),” James P. Jacovatos, President & CEO of Hanover Community Bank, said. “This news, in conjunction with our State of New York Banking Department approval, means we have been able to open our doors in January this year.

” Jacovatos comes to Hanover after having had more than two decades of experience in the financial sector. He was formerly the Director and Executive Vice President of First Central Savings Bank. Citing the support and confidence Hanover has gained from the local community, he said, “We have raised more than $12 Million of capital in a successful offering of our common stock, most of which comes from the local community.

” In addition to James P. Jacovatos,Robert J. Long, and Geevarghese (Mathew) Mathai, the Board of Directors consists of Richard Conti, Philip A. Okun, Development Corp. Each of the other members is highly qualified and comes with rich experiences in the field of Law, Finance, Housing Industry, and Marketing. Their experiences and expertise will go a long way in steering the Bank through the challenges of establishing the Bank, serving the community, and growing in the right direction, Mathew contended.

Providing the best of services to the clients has been our top priority all along the planning and implementing stage, Mathew said and elaborated some of the activities available to the customers at Hanover: new state of the art technologies such as Cash Recyclers, which dispense and accept cash; biometric readers that offer fast, convenient and safe access to the customer’s accounts, real time Internet banking, online bill pay, e-statements, and our Check Capture program which saves the customer time and money by allowing the deposit of checks from the convenience of their office.

Mathew, who has been very active in the social and cultural life of the local Asian American community in New York, urged the Non Resident Indian community on Long Island to support this new venture, which he said, “is being owned and operated by people who are dedicated to the well being, especially, of the Asian American community. If you need loan, or other banking services, or if you have a friend or associate that you feel would be interested in the opportunity, please contact James Jacovatos, Robert Long or me, Geevarghese Mathai (Mathew), at 516 248-4868 to ensure that we can accommodate your request.” For more details, please visit: Varkey Abraham, Libby Babu Varghese, and Prakash Patel. Richard Conti, Chairman of the Board of Directors, brings to the Bank more than 40 years of experience in the banking industry. He is the Chairman and member of the Board. He is also a member of the Audit Committee of the Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service, one of the largest private social service charities in Brooklyn, a member of the Board of the Brooklyn 86th Street Business Improvement District and President of the Bay Ridge Economic 

For more details, please visit:
http://hanovercommunitybank.com ■

A long cherished dream of the fast growing Indian
American community in the state of New York is
being realized with the launch of the Hanover
Community Bank,” said Mathew.