The Provident Bank Receives Financial Education Innovation Award

The Provident Bank, New Jersey’s oldest community bank with branches throughout its central and northern counties, as well as eastern Pennsylvania, was honored today with the Innovation in Financial Education Award presented by Nasdaq and EverFi. The award recognizes Provident’s significant efforts to improve the financial capability of young Americans. Twenty-five financial institutions were honored with this distinction at a ceremony hosted this morning at Nasdaq’s Marketsite headquarters in New York City.

Honorees were selected based on a set of criteria that included the scale and reach of their financial education initiatives, the duration of their commitment, and unique employee volunteering activities that supplement their programs.

“The institutions we’re recognizing here today have led exceptional efforts to rethink how financial education is taught in our nation’s schools,” said EverFi Founder and CEO Tom Davidson. “Our global competitiveness is dependent on the next generation understanding how the economy works and how to achieve financial security in their lives. We are grateful to the organizations that are helping pave a brighter future for students today.”

As young adults are faced with increasingly complex financial decisions, Provident is committed to providing students with the skills and knowledge needed in order to succeed. Provident has partnered with EverFi to bring the financial education program to local students at no cost to schools or taxpayers and has reached over 1300 students since 2012. The web-based program uses the latest in new media technology – simulations, gaming and adaptive-pathing – to bring complex financial concepts to life for today’s digital generation.

“The Provident Bank is proud to support financial education and literacy for people at all stages in life. It’s truly an integral part of our commitment to the communities we serve,” said Chris Martin, President and CEO of The Provident Bank. “We are encouraged by the intelligence and ambition of the young people who have completed our financial literacy program and we look forward to seeing them excel as they grow and expand their knowledge.”

Administered by teachers in a classroom setting, the web-based course offers over six hours of programming on a variety of financial topics including credit scores, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401k’s and other critical concepts that map to national financial literacy standards. The platform uniquely tracks the progress and performance of every student.

About The Provident Bank

The Provident Bank, (www.providentnj.com) a community-oriented bank offering “commitment you can count on” since 1839, is the wholly owned subsidiary of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS), which reported assets of $8.5 billion as of December 31, 2014. With $5.8 billion in deposits, The Provident Bank provides a comprehensive array of financial products and services through its network of branches throughout northern and central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. The Bank also provides fiduciary and wealth management services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Beacon Trust Company.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) is a leading provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services across six continents. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today's global capital markets. As the creator of the world's first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 70 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Nasdaq is home to more than 3,500 listed companies with a market value of over $9.1 trillion and more than 10,000 corporate clients. To learn more, visit www.nasdaq.com/ambition or www.business.nasdaq.com.

About EverFi

EverFi, Inc. is the leading education technology company focused on teaching, assessing, and certifying K-12 and college students in the critical skills they need for life. The company teams with major corporations and foundations to provide the programs at no cost to K-12 schools. Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EverFi investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Twitter founder Evan Williams, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt. Learn more at everfi.com.