Middletown's Orange Bank CEO Michael Gilfeather elected to New York Fed board

Michael J. Gilfeather, president and chief executive officer of Middletown-based Orange Bank & Trust Company, has been elected as a Class A Director to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a post that runs through December 31, 2028 and positions Orange County voices in regional Fed deliberations.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced on January 8, 2026 that Gilfeather will represent Group 2, which the Fed described as banks "with capital and surplus greater than $40 million and less than $2 billion." Orange Bank & Trust confirmed the election in a company release dated January 28, 2026 and framed the appointment as recognition of the bank's regional footprint and community role.

Gilfeather brings a long banking résumé to the New York Fed board. He began his career at The Bank of New York, where he led retail banking operations, and later served as executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Hudson Valley Bank, overseeing branch banking, trust services, and human resources. Gilfeather has served as chairman of the New York Bankers Association and the Orange County Partnership and currently sits on the bankers’ association executive committee and the board of the Orange County Partnership. His civic board service includes United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region and the Orange Regional Hospital Foundation, now known as the Garnet Health Foundation. Gilfeather is a graduate of Union College and Pace University, where he earned a Master of Business Administration.

Orange Bank & Trust described itself in the January 28 release as a "133‑year‑old financial institution delivering business banking, commercial lending, payment processing, and wealth management services." The company said Gilfeather has guided the bank's expansion to 16 branches and more than 200 employees across Orange, Westchester, Rockland, and Bronx counties, and helped grow the organization into "a regional economic engine with $2.7 billion in total assets." In its release Gilfeather said, "I am honored to join the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As a locally focused, independent bank serving businesses across the Hudson Valley and the greater New York metropolitan region, Orange Bank & Trust brings a unique regional perspective. I look forward to contributing insights from our markets and helping support the New York Fed’s mission to promote a strong and stable financial system."

Local reaction was visible on social media. Orange Bank & Trust’s LinkedIn post, shown with 2,718 followers at the time of capture, drew congratulatory comments including Steffen Wollmer: "Congrats, Mike! What a fantastic and well-deserved honor. The NY Fed is getting a great leader. All the best! 👏" and Mary K. Harrison: "Congratulations Mike! This well deserved appointment put a smile on my face!"

For Orange County businesses and homeowners, Gilfeather’s seat on the New York Fed board could matter in how regional credit conditions and community banking perspectives are relayed to the central banking system. The New York Fed is one of the twelve regional Reserve Banks that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., comprise the Federal Reserve System. The New York Fed release is the authoritative source for the election; Orange Bank’s later release expands on bank-specific metrics and includes Gilfeather’s statement. Readers can expect the incoming director to bring local lending and small business experience into New York Fed discussions through his three-year term ending December 31, 2028.