Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL) is looking for acquisition opportunities. Jack Kopnisky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bancorp, commented, "We have a strong balance sheet with a diversified loan portfolio that grew by 21.2% in 2016 and which has a balanced mix of 43.8% commercial and industrial loans, 45.9% commercial real estate loans and 10.3% consumer loans. We maintained our loans to deposits ratio within our target range of 90% to 95% throughout the year and closed 2016 with a loans to deposits ratio of 94.6%. Our core deposits grew by $ 982.7 million, representing a growth rate of 12.6%. We have ample funding and capital to continue executing our strategy. We completed a common equity offering in November 2016 raising $ 91.0 million in net proceeds and are confident in our ability to continue generating organic growth in loans, deposits and acquisition opportunities."