Junior Achievement of Arizona Opens AmTrust Bank, a division of New York Community Bank, Branch in JA BizTown®

(Tempe, Ariz.) – AmTrust Bank, a division of New York Community Bank, is opening a new branch, but this one is unlike any of the others: It will be run entirely by children. The latest location will be a part of Junior Achievement of Arizona’s (JAAZ) educational facility, JA BizTown. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on Tuesday, September 10 at 3:30, at the JA BizTown facility at JAAZ’s headquarters in Tempe.

AmTrust Bank has a broad partnership with JAAZ, including more than 45 volunteers, five-year sponsorship of events and representation on the board of directors.

“Junior Achievement is thrilled to add AmTrust Bank to our JA BizTown community,” said Joyce Richards, president of Junior Achievement of Arizona.  “We have had a close partnership with AmTrust for the past five years and this is a wonderful way to commemorate that partnership.”

Students who participate in the JA BizTown program will obtain a better understanding of how important it is to manage finances. They will have the opportunity to “work” in the branch, learn what it takes to provide quality customer service and to support customers that are making important financial decisions for themselves and their families.

Doreen Rast, Senior Vice President, Retail Banking Regional Executive  of AmTrust Bank, a division of New York Community Bank,  said, “It is our privilege to make this happen for the youth of Maricopa and Yavapai Counties.” Our relationship with Junior Achievement has evolved over time and with that, so has our commitment to their programs.  On Tuesday we will celebrate, not only a five year financial commitment to JA, but also the development of The AmTrust Bank Branch joining the other businesses in JA’s incredible BizTown.

“We are honored to support the efforts of Junior Achievement in Arizona,” added Michael Fields, First Vice President, Community Reinvestment Act Officer of New York Community Bancorp, Inc. of which AmTrust Bank is a division.  “JA’s mission to inspire and prepare goes hand-in-hand with our mission to excel in all we do for all we serve.  When it comes to supporting the communities we serve, enhancing quality of life through education is a major component of our outreach efforts.” JA BizTown is an elementary school program for students in grades four through six.  The program combines four-week in-class learning sessions with a day-long visit to the JA BizTown facility, where students have the opportunity to run banks, manage restaurants, read utility meters, write checks and even vote.  It is a fully interactive, true-to-life, simulated town where students learn the fundamental relationship between academics and life beyond school.

For more information, please visit www.jaaz.org

About New York Community Bancorp, Inc.

With assets of $44.5 billion at March 31, 2013, New York Community Bancorp, Inc. ranks 20th among the largest bank holding companies in the nation and is a leading producer of multi‐family mortgage loans in New York City, with an emphasis on apartment buildings that feature below‐market rents. The Company has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank, a thrift, with 239 branches serving customers throughout Metro New York, New Jersey, Ohio,Florida, and Arizona; and New York Commercial Bank, with 35 branches serving customers in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, and Westchester County, all in New York.

Reflecting its growth through a series of acquisitions, the Community Bank operates through seven local divisions, each with a history of service and strength: Queens County Savings Bank in Queens; Roslyn Savings Bank on LongIsland; Richmond County Savings Bank on Staten Island; Roosevelt Savings Bank in Brooklyn; Garden State Community Bank in New Jersey; Ohio Savings Bank in Ohio; and AmTrust Bank in Florida and Arizona. Similarly, the Commercial Bank operates 18 of its branches under the divisional name Atlantic Bank.

Additional information about the Company and its bank subsidiaries is available at www.myNYCB.com and www.NewYorkCommercialBank.com.

About Junior Achievement of Arizona

Junior Achievement is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization which believes that every child deserves an education in economics and finances in order to inspire and prepare them for success in a global economy.

Serving Arizona’s youth since 1957, JA prepares young people for the real world by showing them how to become self-sufficient, how to create jobs which make their communities robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace.

Junior Achievement of Arizona reached nearly 98,000 students during the 2012-2013 school year.

For more information on Junior Achievement or ways to get involved, please call 480-377-8500 or visit www.jaaz.org.