ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., operates as the bank holding company for ConnectOne Bank that provides commercial banking products and services.
The company offers a full suite of deposit and loan products and services to the general public, primarily to small and mid-sized businesses, local professionals and individuals residing, working and conducting business in the New York Metropolitan area and the South Florida market served by its West Palm Beach office.
BoeFly, a wholly owned subsidiary of C...
ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., operates as the bank holding company for ConnectOne Bank that provides commercial banking products and services.
The company offers a full suite of deposit and loan products and services to the general public, primarily to small and mid-sized businesses, local professionals and individuals residing, working and conducting business in the New York Metropolitan area and the South Florida market served by its West Palm Beach office.
BoeFly, a wholly owned subsidiary of ConnectOne Bank, is a fintech marketplace that connects borrowers in the franchise space with funding solutions through a network of partner banks, including the Bank.
Market Area
The company’s offices are located primarily in the New York metro market and span New Jersey, New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley, including Rockland, Orange, and Westchester counties. Through high tech tools and services, the company is able to extend its reach by supporting clients as they move into new markets, such as South Florida where it opened an office in West Palm Beach. The company’s market area includes some of the most robust markets in the United States. BoeFly operates out of its main offices in Boston, Massachusetts and New York, and has a nationwide presence through its digital business marketplace.
Products and Services
The company derives a majority of its revenue from net interest income (i.e., the difference between the interest it receives on its loans and investment securities and the interest it pays on deposits and borrowings). The company offers a broad range of deposit and loan products. In addition, to attract the business of consumer and business clients, it provides an extensive array of other banking services. Products and services provided include personal and business checking accounts, money market accounts, time and savings accounts, credit cards, wire transfers, safe deposit boxes, access to automated teller services and telephone, internet and mobile banking. The company offers retirement accounts to consumers and cash management services to business clients that include TreasuryDirect, Automated Clearing House origination, Remote Deposit Capture and digital invoicing.
Noninterest bearing demand deposit products include Totally Free Checking and Simply Better Checking for consumer clients and Small Business Checking and Analysis Checking for commercial clients. Interest-bearing checking accounts require minimum balances for both consumer and commercial clients and include Consumer Interest Checking and Business Interest Checking. Money market accounts consist of products that provide a market rate of interest to depositors. The company's savings accounts offer paper and/or electronic statements. Time deposits (TD) are for non-retirement and IRA accounts, generally with initial maturities ranging from 31 days to 60 months, and brokered TDs, which it uses for asset liability management purposes and to supplement other sources of funding. Many of the company's deposit products can be accessed through both its branches and online to provide ease of access to its clients and communities. CDARS/ICS reciprocal deposits are offered based on its participation in the IntraFi Network LLC (the network), who are Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance sensitive, are able to place large dollar deposits with the company. It utilizes CDARS to place those funds into certificates of deposit issued by other banks in the Network.
Deposits serve as the primary source of funding for the company's interest-earning assets, but also generate noninterest revenue through insufficient funds fees, stop payment fees, wire transfer fees, safe deposit rental fees, debit card income, including foreign ATM fees and credit and debit card interchange, and other miscellaneous fees. In addition, the company generates additional noninterest revenue associated with residential, commercial and Small Business Administration (SBA) loan originations and sales, loan servicing, late fees, and merchant services.
The company offers consumer and commercial business loans on a secured and unsecured basis, revolving lines of credit, commercial mortgage loans, and residential mortgages on both primary and secondary residences, home equity loans, bridge loans, and other personal purpose loans.
Commercial loans are loans made for business purposes and are primarily secured by collateral such as business assets including accounts receivable, inventory and equipment. These facilities can also be secured by cash balances with the company, marketable securities held by or under the control of the company, and commercial and residential real estate.
Commercial construction loans are loans to finance the construction of commercial or residential properties secured by first liens on such properties. Commercial real estate loans include loans secured by first liens on completed commercial properties, including multifamily properties, to purchase or refinance such properties, as well as land loans. Residential mortgages include loans secured by first liens on 1-4 family, 1-4 family investment properties, condominium, and cooperative residential real estate, and are generally made to existing clients of the company to purchase or refinance primary, and secondary residences. Home equity loans, and lines of credit include loans secured by first or second liens on residential real estate for primary or secondary residences. Consumer loans are made to individuals who qualify for auto loans, cash reserve, credit cards, and installment loans.
The company's lending policies generally provide for lending within its primary trade area. To promote a high degree of asset quality, the company focuses primarily upon offering secured loans. The company generally requires loan clients to maintain deposit accounts with it. In addition, the company generally provides a minimum required rate of interest in its variable rate loans. The company's legal lending limit to any one borrower is 15% of the Bank’s capital base (defined as tangible equity plus the allowance for credit losses) for most loans ($172.0 million) and 25% of the capital base loans secured by readily marketable collateral for ($286.7 million).
Investments
As of December 31, 2024, the principal components of the investment portfolio are the U.S. Treasury and Government Agency Obligations, Federal Agency Obligations including mortgage-backed securities, Obligations of U.S. States and Political Subdivisions, Corporate Bonds, and other debt, and equity securities.
Supervision and Regulation
The company is a bank holding company within the meaning of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (the Holding Company Act). As a bank holding company, the company is supervised by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), and is required to file reports with the FRB, and provide such additional information as the FRB may require. The company and its subsidiaries are subject to examination by the FRB.
As a New Jersey-charted commercial bank and an FDIC-insured institution, acquisitions by the Bank require approval of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (the Banking Department) and the FDIC, an agency of the federal government. The Holding company Act does not place territorial restrictions on the activities of non-bank subsidiaries of bank holding companies. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, discussed below, allows the company to expand into insurance, securities, merchant banking activities, and other activities that are financial in nature, in certain circumstances.
The deposits of the bank are insured up to applicable limits by the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) of the FDIC, and are subject to deposit insurance assessments to maintain the DIF.
The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the USA PATRIOT Act) gives the federal government powers to address terrorist threats through domestic security measures, surveillance powers, information sharing, and anti-money laundering requirements.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA), each federal banking agency has promulgated regulations, specifying the levels at which an insured depository institution such as the bank would be considered ‘well capitalized,’ ‘adequately capitalized,’ ‘undercapitalized,’ ‘significantly undercapitalized,’ or ‘critically undercapitalized’.
The company’s authority to extend credit to its directors and executive officers, as well as to entities controlled by such persons, is currently governed by the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and Regulation O promulgated by the FRB.
History
The company was incorporated in the state of New Jersey in 1982. It was formerly known as Center Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. in 2014.