Signature Bank Ranks Number One in Three Categories of the New York Law Journal's Ninth Annual "Best Of" Survey

Bank Named Best Business Bank, Best Private Bank and Best Attorney Escrow Services Provider; Ranks in Top Three of Best Business Bank Category for Ninth Consecutive Year

Signature Bank SBNY, a New York-based full-service commercial bank, announced today it has been named Best Business Bank, Best Private Bank and Best Attorney Escrow Services provider by the New York Law Journal in its ninth annual survey of the New York legal community. The rankings are part of the publication's "Best of" survey supplement (formerly Reader Rankings). Furthermore, 2018 also marks the ninth straight year that Signature Bank has earned a top three position in one or more of those same categories, thereby earning the institution a place in New York Law Journal's Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is awarded to companies that have placed in "Best of" for at least three of the past four years.

Since 2010 when the New York Law Journal began its Reader Rankings, Signature Bank has consistently secured the top spot or ranked in the top three in the Best Business Bank, Best Private Bank and Best Attorney Escrow Services provider categories. For the past nine consecutive years, Signature Bank has been voted the Best Business Bank four times. It is also the eighth consecutive year Signature Bank was named in the top three of the Best Private Bank category (number one twice), and the seventh consecutive year it appeared in the top three in the Best Attorney Escrow Services provider category, including ranking number one for the fourth time.

The rankings, which were revealed in the September 24, 2018 edition of the New York-area's leading legal trade publication, reflect the votes of 9,500+ attorneys and other legal professionals, who were presented an opportunity to vote in more than 80 legal-related categories. The voting process is purely democratic, and results represent the candid opinions of New York Law Journal readers and members of the New York legal community.

"To be recognized as number one in all three categories is extremely rewarding for all our colleagues. Signature Bank's single-point-of-contact, client-centric model has enabled us to stand out, particularly in the legal arena, where we serve many loyal clients. The trust and confidence Signature Bank earned from the legal professionals with whom we work are the reasons we received top placement in all three categories, and also why we continually secured top billing over the past nine years since the New York Law Journal's survey began," said Signature Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph J. DePaolo.

"We thank our clients for their ongoing commitment to Signature Bank, and our colleagues for their unrelenting dedication. We very much appreciate the opportunity to serve the legal community, and remain dedicated to catering to its needs. We are gratified by the time our clients took to cast their votes and for the trust they put in our institution each and every day. We also thank the New York Law Journal for this forum and the chance to be recognized across the New York area's legal sector," DePaolo explained.

The New York Law Journal is a reliable news source for attorneys, designed to keep the fast-paced New York-area legal community up-to-date on industry trends and developments. The publication is owned by ALM, a global leader in specialized business news and information serving the legal, real estate, consulting, insurance and investment advisory industries.

About Signature Bank

Signature Bank, member FDIC, is a New York-based full-service commercial bank with 30 private client offices throughout the New York metropolitan area, including those in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Westchester, Long Island, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and Connecticut. In 2018, the Bank expanded its footprint on the West Coast with the opening of its first full-service private client banking office in San Francisco. The Bank's growing network of private client banking teams serves the needs of privately owned businesses, their owners and senior managers.

Signature Bank's specialty finance subsidiary, Signature Financial, LLC, provides equipment finance and leasing. Signature Securities Group Corporation, a wholly owned Bank subsidiary, is a licensed broker-dealer, investment adviser and member FINRA/SIPC, offering investment, brokerage, asset management and insurance products and services.

Since commencing operations in May 2001, the Bank has grown to $45.22 billion in assets, $34.15 billion in loans, $34.99 billion in deposits, $4.15 billion in equity capital and $3.49 billion in other assets under management as of June 30, 2018. Signature Bank's Tier 1 and risk-based capital ratios are significantly above the levels required to be considered well capitalized.

Signature Bank is ranked the 40^th largest bank in the U.S. from nearly 6,000, based on deposits (SNL Financial). The Bank recently earned several third-party recognitions, including: appeared on Forbes' Best Banks in America list for the eighth consecutive year in 2018; named Best Business Bank, Best Private Bank and Best Attorney Escrow Services provider by the New York Law Journal in the publication's annual "Best of" survey for 2018, earning it a place in the New York Law Journal's Hall of Fame, awarded to companies that have ranked in the "Best of" Survey for at least three of the past four years.

For more information, please visit www.signatureny.com.

This press release and oral statements made from time to time by our representatives contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on those statements because they are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties relating to our operations and business environment, all of which are difficult to predict and may be beyond our control. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our future results, interest rates and the interest rate environment, loan and deposit growth, loan performance, operations, new private client teams and other hires, new office openings and business strategy. These statements often include words such as "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "potential," "opportunity," "could," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would," "plan," "estimate" or other similar expressions. As you consider forward-looking statements, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us or in our control. These factors include but are not limited to: (i) prevailing economic conditions; (ii) changes in interest rates, loan demand, real estate values and competition, any of which can materially affect origination levels and gain on sale results in our business, as well as other aspects of our financial performance, including earnings on interest-bearing assets; (iii) the level of defaults, losses and prepayments on loans made by us, whether held in portfolio or sold in the whole loan secondary markets, which can materially affect charge-off levels and required credit loss reserve levels; (iv) changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; (v) changes in the banking and other financial services regulatory environment and (vi) competition for qualified personnel and desirable office locations. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, beliefs and expectations, if a change occurs or our beliefs, assumptions and expectations were incorrect, our business, financial condition, liquidity or results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Additional risks are described in our quarterly and annual reports filed with the FDIC. You should keep in mind that any forward-looking statements made by Signature Bank speak only as of the date on which they were made. New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and we cannot predict these events or how they may affect the Bank. Signature Bank has no duty to, and does not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements after the date on which they are made. In light of these risks and uncertainties, you should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made in this release or elsewhere might not reflect actual results.

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