<div id="subtitle">Hudson Valley to merge 2 local banking units in New York</div><div><p>Hudson Valley Holding Corp. said Tuesday that it submitted an application to combine its two local banking units.</p><p>If approved, New York National Bank will relinquish its banking charter and operate as a division of Hudson Valley Bank. Approval for the acquisition is expected in early 2010, the company said.</p><p>Hudson Valley Bank, based in Westchester, has more than $2.4 billion in assets and 33 branches in the New York metropolitan area and Connecticut. New York National Bank, based in the Bronx, has about $140 million in assets and three branches in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan. It was acquired by Hudson Valley Holding in 2006.</p><p>Merging the two units will reduce costs and improve the efficiency of operations, the company said.</p><p>The change will not affect where or how customers of either bank do their banking, the company said in a release.</p><p>Shares of Hudson Valley slipped 51 cents to $26.89 Tuesday.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=65881306&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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