Hanover Bancorp, Inc. Announces the Addition of a New Chief Commercial Real Estate Lending Officer
Rhea-AI Summary
Hanover Bancorp (NASDAQ: HNVR) announced the appointment of William J. Newham III as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Real Estate Lending Officer on January 29, 2026. Newham brings over two decades of commercial real estate banking experience and local market expertise in Suffolk County and the New York metro area.
The move is positioned to strengthen Hanover Bank's commercial real estate lending platform, support core deposit growth, and pursue CRE opportunities created by consolidation in the banking industry while emphasizing relationship-based, local decision-making.
Positive
- Appoints a CRE leader with >20 years of commercial real estate banking experience
- Strengthens Hanover's CRE lending platform targeting Suffolk County and Long Island
- Supports strategy to grow core deposits via relationship-driven commercial lending
Negative
- Concentration management noted, implying potential CRE exposure risks if lending accelerates
News Market Reaction – HNVR
In the Jan 30 session, HNVR declined 3.55%, reflecting a moderate negative market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30 | Earnings and dividend | Positive | +0.2% | Q3 2025 results and declaration of a $0.10 quarterly cash dividend. |
| Sep 25 | Digital platform launch | Positive | -0.6% | Launch of redesigned website focused on business, personal and municipal banking. |
| Aug 07 | Marketing campaign | Positive | -0.9% | Inaugural radio and digital audio campaign supporting growth and expansion strategy. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Operational and marketing initiatives have previously seen minor negative price reactions, while earnings and dividend news aligned with a small positive move.
Over the past six months, Hanover Bancorp highlighted strategic initiatives and financial performance. On Aug 7, 2025, it launched a radio and digital campaign tied to branch expansion, followed by a redesigned website announcement on Sep 25, 2025. Earnings and a $0.10 dividend on Oct 30, 2025 coincided with a slight positive move. Today’s leadership appointment in commercial real estate lending fits the broader pattern of targeted growth and franchise-building actions.
Key Terms
commercial real estate (cre) financial
core deposits financial
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
MINEOLA, N.Y., Jan. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hanover Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: HNVR) (the “Company”), the bank holding company for Hanover Community Bank (the “Bank” or “Hanover”), today announced the appointment of Mr. William J. Newham, III to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Real Estate (CRE) Lending Officer.
Mr. Newham brings a relationship-focused approach to Hanover, a key differentiator as consolidation across the banking industry has limited access to CRE lending. With over two decades of commercial real estate banking experience and deep knowledge of the Long Island and New York metro area markets, particularly Suffolk County, his appointment better positions Hanover Bank to address the CRE lending gap created by this consolidation and reinforces the Bank’s commitment to client-focused banking and prudent growth.
“Will’s appointment reflects our continued commitment to disciplined growth and relationship-based banking,” said Michael P. Puorro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hanover Bank. “We believe that our recent and ongoing expansion strategies, while proactively managing concentration levels, strengthen our commercial real estate lending platform and position us to pursue attractive opportunities across Suffolk County and Long Island. Will’s relationship-oriented approach, experience, and market knowledge align closely with our strategies and support our continued focus on deposit growth.”
Mr. Newham’s experience, market expertise, and proven ability to cultivate strong client connections while leading high-performing teams will support Hanover’s strategy of growing CRE loans and core deposits. His approach aligns with Hanover Bank’s client-focused banking model, emphasizing local decision-making and tailored, relationship-driven solutions.
About Will Newham
Prior to joining Hanover Bank, Mr. Newham spent more than 14 years at Dime Community Bank, (nine of which included his career at BNB), most recently serving as Executive Vice President and Group Leader of Commercial Real Estate Lending. He also held senior leadership roles at other Long Island based financial institutions. Throughout his career, he has helped expand CRE platforms across Long Island, gaining deep insight into the Suffolk County market—experience he will now leverage in an effort to grow Hanover Bank’s commercial real estate lending platform and strengthen its presence in this increasingly underserved region.
“I am excited to join Hanover Bank and be part of an organization that values relationships, local expertise, and thoughtful growth,” said Mr. Newham. “Hanover has built a strong reputation for serving its communities, and I look forward to working with the team to support clients in Suffolk County and across all of Long Island by providing consistent access to commercial lending and relationship focused banking solutions.”
About Hanover Community Bank and Hanover Bancorp, Inc.
Hanover Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: HNVR), is the bank holding company for Hanover Community Bank, a community commercial bank focusing on highly personalized and efficient services and products responsive to client needs. Management and the Board of Directors are comprised of a select group of successful local businesspeople who are committed to the success of the Bank by knowing and understanding the metro-New York area’s financial needs and opportunities. Backed by state-of-the-art technology, Hanover offers a full range of financial services. Hanover offers a complete suite of consumer, commercial, and municipal banking products and services, including multifamily and commercial mortgages, residential loans, business loans, and lines of credit. Hanover also offers its customers access to 24-hour ATM service with no fees attached, free checking with interest, telephone banking, advanced technologies in mobile and internet banking for our consumer and business customers, safe deposit boxes and much more. The Company’s corporate administrative office is located in Mineola, New York where it also operates a full-service branch office along with additional branch locations in Garden City Park, Hauppauge, Port Jefferson, Forest Hills, Flushing, Sunset Park, Rockefeller Center and Bowery, New York, and Freehold, New Jersey.
Hanover Community Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and is an Equal Housing/Equal Opportunity Lender. For further information, call (516) 548-8500 or visit the Bank’s website at www.hanoverbank.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and may be identified by the use of such words as "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "plan," "estimate," "predict," "continue," and "potential" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, estimates with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of Hanover Bancorp, Inc. Any or all of the forward-looking statements in this release and in any other public statements made by Hanover Bancorp, Inc. may turn out to be incorrect as a result of inaccurate assumptions that Hanover Bancorp, Inc. might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. There are a number of important factors that could cause future results to differ materially from historical performance and these forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (1) the impact of a pandemic or other health crises and the government’s response to such pandemic or crises on our operations as well as those of our customers and on the economy generally and in our market area specifically, (2) competitive pressures among depository institutions may increase significantly; (3) changes in the interest rate environment may reduce interest margins; (4) loan origination and sale volumes, charge-offs and credit loss provisions may vary substantially from period to period; (5) general economic conditions may be less favorable than expected; (6) political developments, wars or other hostilities may disrupt or increase volatility in securities markets or other economic conditions; (7) legislative or regulatory changes or actions may adversely affect the businesses in which Hanover Bancorp, Inc. is engaged; (8) the impacts of tariffs, sanctions and other trade policies of the United States and its global trading counterparts; (9) changing political conditions and the outcome of federal, state, and local elections and the resulting economic and other impact on the areas in which we conduct business; (10) changes and trends in the securities markets may adversely impact Hanover Bancorp, Inc.; (11) a delayed or incomplete resolution of regulatory issues could adversely impact our planning; (12) difficulties in integrating any businesses that we may acquire, which may increase our expenses and delay the achievement of any benefits that we may expect from such acquisitions; (13) the impact of the strategic credit cleanup that we implemented during the fourth quarter of 2025; (14) the impact of reputation risk created by the developments discussed above on such matters as business generation and retention, funding and liquidity could be significant; and (15) the outcome of any future regulatory and legal investigations and proceedings may not be anticipated. Further information on other factors that could affect the financial results of Hanover Bancorp, Inc. are included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K under Item 1A - Risk Factors, as updated by our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Hanover Bancorp Inc. does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release or to conform these statements to actual events.
Investor and Press Contact:
Lance P. Burke
Chief Financial Officer
(516) 548-8500
