JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Jeffersonville Bancorp, Inc. (OTCQB - JFBC), the holding company for Jeff Bank, announced that the bank has completed all requirements to convert from a New York State to a national banking charter. The conversion became effective September 1.

The bank operates under the name Jeff Bank, National Association, but will continue to operate under the trade name “Jeff Bank.”

The company expects that the charter conversion will not have a significant impact on the bank’s current activities or investments and will not affect the terms and conditions of loan and deposit accounts.

George Kinne, Jr., president/CEO, said, “The regulatory oversight of the OCC will be similar to what we have received in the past but without the duplication of efforts that occurs with separate state and federal regulators. In addition, the national charter provides preemption of state laws, which will improve our competitive position since our branches border two other states.”

As a result of the charter conversion, the OCC will be the bank’s primary regulator, and the bank will become a member of the Federal Reserve Bank system. The Federal Reserve Board will continue to be the primary banking regulator for Jeffersonville Bancorp.

Special dividend also announced

Separately, Jeffersonville Bancorp announced that a special cash dividend in the amount of 25 cents ($0.25) per share on the common stock of the company was declared at the September 15 meeting of the board of directors. The dividend is payable on October 7 to stockholders of record at the close of business on September 29.

“As announced in our second quarter earnings release last month, the company continues to outperform peers due to higher loan interest income, solid credit quality, and low core funding costs,” said Kinne. “The board of directors is pleased that with its strong capital position and high level of earnings, they are able to reward our loyal shareholders with this special cash dividend.”

Jeffersonville Bancorp is a one-bank holding company, which owns all the capital stock of Jeff Bank. Jeff Bank maintains 10 full-service branches in Sullivan and Orange counties in New York, located in Anawana Lake Road/Monticello, Eldred, Callicoon, Jeffersonville, Liberty, Livingston Manor, Monticello, Port Jervis, White Lake and Wurtsboro.