Bridge Bancorp, Inc., the parent company of BNB Bank, and Dime Community Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Dime Community Bank, today jointly announced that the parties have received approval from New York State Department of Financial Services to merge Dime Community Bank with and into BNB Bank. The merger is expected to close on February 1, 2021, on which day the combined company will open as the new Dime Community Bank.

Kevin O’Connor, BNB Bank’s President and CEO, stated, “We are very excited to begin a new chapter, and look forward to providing superior financial services to communities across Long Island and New York City. The support of our regulatory agencies and shareholders reinforces the value of the expanded services and increased efficiencies the ‘new’ Dime will be delivering.”

“For generations, Dime has been among the biggest lenders by volume on properties serving low- and moderate income persons, due to our specialization in pre-war, rent-regulated multifamily housing,” said Kenneth J. Mahon, Dime’s CEO. “In recent years, we extended our expertise to single family lending, where the combined partnership of BNB and Dime will expect to make a meaningful impact in the availability of credit for affordable housing in our markets.”