HCBK (MM)

PARAMUS, N.J., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. ("Hudson City") (NASDAQ:HCBK), the largest savings bank in the United States, was named one of the Best Big Companies in America and singled out as The Best-Managed Bank in America again in 2008 by Forbes magazine. Forbes selects the Platinum 400 -- the Best Big Companies in America -- on such factors as sales and earnings growth, debt to total capital, earnings outlook and stock market returns. According to Ronald E. Hermance, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hudson City, "This is our year to shine. While 2008 was a year of unprecedented turbulence across the financial services industry, Hudson City Bancorp not only survived, but thrived during one of the worst economic downturns in decades. 2008 marks our tenth straight year of record earnings." According to Forbes, The Platinum 400 companies are separated into 26 industry groups upon which they are ranked by numerous growth rates and valuation measures. "Our methodology ranks companies both on one- and five-year data, in order to take into account long-term success and latest performance. Guided by these rankings and other data, such as analyst reviews and accounting and governance ratings, our editors chose one company as the best managed for each industry." Hudson City received this honor in both 2007 and 2008. Forbes also named Hudson City One of The Best Recession Stocks. According to the report: "One theory that has not held up, especially in 2008, is that financial services are a safe place to invest during a downturn. We have only identified one Platinum 400 bank, Hudson City Bancorp, that met our screening criteria. Our editors also selected this Paramus, N.J., outfit as the best-managed company in the banking industry." At a time when the economy is facing an extraordinary level of uncertainty, Hudson City's traditional approach to banking has been applauded by the national media covering Wall Street and Main Street alike. On June 23, 2008, Investor's Business Daily reported, "Hudson looks like one of those rare stocks that -- thanks to smart management -- will skip the subprime pain." On August 14, 2008, the New York Times reported, "Hudson City is one of the few bright spots in an industry beset with gloom and doom." On October 3, 2008, ABC News said, "As big banks crumbled and Wall Street threatened to bring down Main Street, there was a little bank that quietly moved forward and watched its status rise." Hudson City Bancorp, Inc., the largest savings bank in the United States by market capitalization, is recognized as The Most Efficient Bank in the country. This enables Hudson City to deliver significant values to customers in the form of higher deposit yields, competitive mortgage rates, lower fees, and a straightforward, streamlined loan process. Hudson City, headquartered in New Jersey, also serves customers throughout the surrounding metropolitan New York area with branches located in Westchester, Fairfield, Putnam, and Rockland counties, as well as in Long Island, Staten Island, and the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia. Deposit accounts at Hudson City are FDIC insured to the maximum allowed by law. 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 Hudson City Bancorp that are subject to various factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from these estimates. Any or all of the forward-looking statements in this release and in any other public statements made by Hudson City may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions Hudson City might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Hudson City 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. DATASOURCE: Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. CONTACT: Susan Munhall, Investor Relations, Hudson City Bancorp, Inc., +1-201-967-8290,

Copyright