Great Neck-based Community National Bank is expanding to Queens.
With six locations in Nassau County and one in Suffolk County, the opening of the 3,000 square-foot space on Bell Boulevard marks CNB’s first move to Queens since the bank opened in 2005.
With commercial lending and bank assets up about 20 percent for the year, and deposits growing, CNB President and CEO Stuart Lubow said the bank is expanding while others are closing branches and going in the opposite direction.
“We’re kind of bucking the trend. I would say because we were conservative in our lending and careful in the way we did business – yet still providing great service to commercial and residential customers – we kind of stayed away from the problems a lot of institutions had,” said Lubow from the bank’s corporate headquarters on Middle Neck Road.
Lubow said customers can expect the same mix of old-time banking principles and current technology at the new location, which is expected to open in March.
Formerly a Chase Bank branch, Lubow said the renovated Bayside location will have the same look as most Community National Banks and the same 7-day-a-week service-oriented approach which has helped the bank expand.
“The site is a very vibrant commercial strip and we always thought it was a natural jumping off point from here in Great Neck,” said Lubow.
The Bayside location marks the bank’s fifth new branch opening since 2008 and is a good fit for the company and its customers, according to Lubow.
“The reality is we are the No. 2 small business lender in Long Island and No. 5 in the New York district, so I think from the standpoint … we are going to be a significant player in small business lending,” Lubow said.
