PROVIDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. ANNOUNCES MERGER CONSIDERATION
                 ELECTION, ALLOCATION AND PRORATION RESULTS FOR
                    THE FIRST MORRIS BANK & TRUST ACQUISITION

JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 5, 2007 / PRNewswire-First Call/ -- Provident Financial
Services,  Inc. (NYSE: PFS)  ("Provident")  today announced results of elections
made by  stockholders  of First Morris Bank & Trust  ("First  Morris") as to the
form of merger consideration to be received in the April 1, 2007 merger of First
Morris  with and  into The  Provident  Bank,  the  savings  bank  subsidiary  of
Provident.

Under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated October 15, 2006,  50%
of First Morris common shares will be converted into Provident  common stock and
the remaining 50% will be converted into cash. First Morris'  stockholders  were
given the option to receive  either  2.1337  shares of Provident  common  stock,
$39.75 in cash,  or a  combination  of Provident  common stock and cash for each
First  Morris  common  share  owned,  subject to proration to ensure that in the
aggregate 50% of the First Morris shares will be converted into Provident common
stock.

In accordance with the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, and based upon
the election results and allocation procedures:

o First Morris  stockholders  who made a stock  election for all or a portion of
their  shares  of First  Morris  common  stock  will  receive  2.1337  shares of
Provident common stock for each of their stock election shares.

o  Since  the  cash  merger  consideration  was  oversubscribed,   First  Morris
stockholders  who made a cash  election  for all or a portion of their shares of
First  Morris  common stock will  receive the cash  consideration  of $39.75 per
share for  approximately  66.46% of their cash election  shares and will receive
2.1337 shares of Provident  common stock per share for  approximately  33.54% of
their cash election shares.

o First Morris stockholders who did not make a valid election prior to 5:00 p.m.
on March 29, 2007 will receive 2.1337 shares of Provident  common stock for each
of their shares of First Morris  common  stock,  upon  completion of a letter of
transmittal being mailed to them.

No fractional  shares of Provident common stock shall be issued. In lieu of such
fractional  shares  Provident  will pay to each  former  holder of First  Morris
common stock an amount in cash without interest, equal to $17.427.

Please call Registrar and Transfer  Company at  1-800-368-5948  for  information
regarding individual allocation results.


About Provident

Provident  Financial  Services,  Inc. is the holding  company for The  Provident
Bank.   Originally   established   in  1839,   The  Provident   Bank  is  a  New
Jersey-chartered  capital stock savings bank  headquartered  in Jersey City, New
Jersey. The Bank now operates 84 full-service branches in Hudson, Bergen, Essex,
Mercer,  Middlesex,  Monmouth,  Morris, Ocean, Somerset and Union counties after
giving effect to the First Morris merger.



This news release may contain a number of  forward-looking  statements,  as that
term is defined in the Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking  statements are subject to risks and  uncertainties  which could
cause actual results to differ  materially from those currently  anticipated due
to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, factors discussed
in documents filed by Provident with the Securities and Exchange Commission from
time to time. Provident undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which
such  statements  were made. You may access the filings and other  financial and
business information regarding Provident at www.providentnj.com.

SOURCE: Provident Financial Services, Inc.

CONTACT:
Provident Financial Services, Inc.:
Kenneth J. Wagner, SVP - Investor Relations
(201) 915-5344
Ken.Wagner@providentnj.com