Provident Bank added four new members to its Commercial Lending team to support the Bank’s plans to grow its commercial deposits and loan portfolio.

Lee Ehudin and Adam Kuras have joined the Bank as First Vice Presidents/Commercial Lending Team Leaders for Provident’s North Jersey region. Both Mr. Kuras and Mr. Ehudin are responsible for managing their respective teams of commercial lending relationship managers and lending specialists to provide creative commercial loan, deposit and wealth management solutions to meet the needs of small to mid-sized companies across the Provident Bank footprint. Both Mr. Kuras and Mr. Ehudin will also manage a loan portfolio and service the lending needs of existing clients.

Mr. Ehudin has more than 15 years’ experience in commercial lending and most recently served as Vice President, Senior Commercial Loan Officer at ConnectOne Bank. Mr. Ehudin holds a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Finance from Montclair State University, Montclair, N.J.

Mr. Kuras has more than 25 years’ experience in financial services and most recently served as First Senior Vice President, Chief Lending Officer with Unity Bank. Mr. Kuras holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.

Provident also announced that Nick Mileo has joined the Bank as Vice President, Commercial Lending Relationship Manager for the Metro commercial lending team. He is responsible for originating, evaluating and structuring complex loan requests and transactions for the Metro NY/NJ market.   He will also work closely with accounting firms, law firms, intermediaries, and trade associations to source new business.

Mr. Mileo has more than 15 years’ experience in banking and most recently served as Director, Business Banking at Capital One Bank. Mr. Mileo holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance and a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in accounting, both earned from Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  

In addition, Provident welcomed John Reda as a Relationship Manager for the Bank’s SBA lending team. Mr. Reda is responsible for soliciting credit-worthy prospects and customers in an effort to develop new business, increase and retain existing business within the framework of the policy and procedures of the Bank and SBA loan programs.  He will also promote profitable growth of the loan portfolio and ensure an exceptional customer experience.

Mr. Reda has several years’ experience in financial services and most recently served as a Franchise Sales Specialist at Advantage Capital/First Bank of the Lake, Osage Beach, Missouri. Prior to that, he served as an Internship Analyst at Nova Capital Global Partners Investment Bank, New York. Mr. Reda holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from SUNY Cortland.

“I am pleased to welcome Lee, Adam, Nick, and John to the team.  Each brings with them a distinct skill set, along with extensive knowledge of our markets and the lending needs of businesses,” said Steve Guidette, Market President, NJ & NY Commercial Lending. “They understand our business strategy and know what is needed to drive results and deliver best-in-class banking solutions to our clients,” added Guidette.