Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Hudson Valley Holding Corp.                 CONTACT
21 Scarsdale Road                           -------
Yonkers, NY 10707                           Stephen R. Brown
                                            Sr. EVP, CFO and Treasurer
                                            (914) 771-3212 (Earnings)

                                            Wendy Croker
                                            VP, Shareholder Relations
                                            (914) 771-3214 (Dividend)

                          HUDSON VALLEY HOLDING CORP.
                            ANNOUNCES CASH DIVIDEND
                    AND REPORTS INCREASED SIX MONTH EARNINGS

      YONKERS, NY, July 26, 2005 -- James J. Landy, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Hudson Valley Holding Corp., announced earnings for the first
six months of 2005. Earnings for the six month period were $15.2 million,
compared to $12.4 million for the same period in 2004. Diluted earnings per
share were $2.02 compared to $1.67 for the same period last year. Mr. Landy
emphasized that this significant growth in earnings from operations was the
result of strong loan demand and continued deposit growth. In addition, Mr.
Landy, announced that as of June 30, 2005, assets totaled $2.0 billion, deposits
totaled $1.4 billion, and net loans totaled $933.8 million.

      Further, William E. Griffin, Chairman of the Board, noting the continued
excellent performance of the Company, announced that the Board of Directors has
declared a cash dividend of $0.47 per share payable to all shareholders of
record as of the close of business August 5, 2005. The dividend will be mailed
to shareholders on or about August 12, 2005.

      Hudson Valley Holding Corp., headquartered in Yonkers, NY, is the parent
company of Hudson Valley Bank, an independently owned local Bank, serving the
metropolitan area with 20 branches located in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and
Westchester. The Bank specializes in providing a full range of financial
services to small businesses, professional services firms, not-for-profit
organizations and individuals; and provides investment management services
through a subsidiary, A. R. Schmeidler & Co., Inc. The Company's stock is traded
under the ticker symbol "HUVL" on the OTC Bulletin Board. Additional information
on the Bank can be obtained on our web-site at www.hudsonvalleybank.com.
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This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe
harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements refer to future events or our future financial performance. We have
attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including
"anticipates," "believes," "can," "continue," "expects," "intends," "may,"
"plans," "potential," "predicts," "should" or "will" or the negative of these
terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
our or the banking industry's actual results, level of activity, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results, level of
activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, material adverse changes in Hudson Valley Bank's
operations or earnings, or a decline in the economy in the New York Metropolitan
area. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking
statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements.

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