Executive Summary
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for New York Community Bank. At March 31, 2019, we had total assets of $52.1 billion, total loans of $40.4 billion, deposits of $31.6 billion, and total stockholders’ equity of $6.6 billion.
Chartered in the State of New York, the Community Bank is subject to regulations by the FDIC, the CFPB, and the NYSDFS. In addition, the holding company is subject to regulation by the FRB, the SEC, and to the requirements of the NYSE, where shares of our common stock are traded under the symbol “NYCB” and shares of our preferred stock trade under the symbol “NYCB PR A.”
Reflecting our growth through a series of acquisitions, the Company currently operates 240 branches through eight local divisions, each with a history of service and strength: Queens County Savings Bank, Roslyn Savings Bank, Richmond County Savings Bank, Roosevelt Savings Bank, and Atlantic Bank in New York; Garden State Community Bank in New Jersey; Ohio Savings Bank in Ohio; and AmTrust Bank in Arizona and Florida.
Now in our 26th year as a publicly traded company, our mission is to provide our shareholders with a solid return on their investment by producing a strong financial performance, adhering to conservative underwriting standards, maintaining a solid capital position, and engaging in corporate strategies that enhance the value of our shares.
For the three months ended March 31, 2019, the Company reported net income of $97.6 million, down $4.2 million or 4.1% from the $101.7 million we reported for the three months ended December 31, 2018 and down, $9.0 million or 8.4% from the three months ended March 31, 2018. Net income available to common shareholders for the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $89.4 million, also down $4.2 million or 4.4% from the $93.5 million reported for the three months ended December 31, 2018 and it also declined $9.0 million or 9.1% from the three months ended March 31, 2018.
Diluted earnings per common share for the three months ended March 31, 2019 were $0.19, unchanged from the diluted earnings per common share we reported for the three months ended December 31, 2018 and compared to the $0.20 reported for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
The key trends in the quarter were:
Successful Implementation of Expense Reduction Strategy
Totalnon-interest expense for the three months ended March 31, 2019, was $138.8 million, up $3.8 million or 2.8% compared to the three months ended December 31, 2018. However, included in the current quarter’s results were certain items, which together totaled approximately $9.0 million. These items include $3.5 million in employee severance costs and $5.5 million in branch rationalization costs.
Excluding these two items, totalnon-interest expenses, on anon-GAAP basis, would have totaled $129.7 million during the current first quarter, down $5.2 million or 3.9% compared to the previous quarter. The efficiency ratio for the current first quarter of 2019 was 52.15% compared to 49.92% for the fourth quarter of 2018 and 47.45% for the first quarter of 2018. Excluding the two items referenced above, the adjusted efficiency ratio for the first quarter of 2019 would have been 48.75%, down 117 bp compared to the previous quarter, but up 130 bp compared to the year-ago quarter.
Strong Deposit Growth
During the first quarter of 2019, the Company continued to execute on its organic deposit growth strategy. For the three months ended March 31, 2019, total deposits increased $836.7 million or 10.9% on an annualized basis to $31.6 billion compared to the three months ended December 31, 2018. The majority of this growth occurred in the CD category. CDs rose $573.5 million or 18.8% annualized compared to the prior quarter. In addition to the strong CD growth, we also experienced solid growth innon-interest bearing deposits and in savings accounts, while the balance ofnon-interest bearing checking and money market accounts declined modestly.
Non-interest bearing accounts rose $193.1 million or 32.2% annualized to $2.6 billion, while savings accounts increased $117.6 million or 10.1% annualized to $4.8 billion.
Loan Growth Increases
Total loans held for investment rose $360.1 million or 3.6% annualized to $40.5 billion. The current quarter’s loan growth was driven by growth in our C&I portfolio, particularly the specialty finance business, as well as growth in the multi-family and CRE portfolios. Total C&I loans increased $316.6 million or 13.3% (not annualized) to $2.7 billion. This growth was largely due to growth in the specialty finance loan portfolio. This portfolio increased $309.0 million or 16.1% (not annualized) to $2.2 billion compared to the previous quarter. CRE loans increased $80.4 million or 4.6% annualized to $7.1 billion, while our multi-family portfolio increased $48.9 million to $30.0 billion, up 1.0% annualized compared to the balances at December 31, 2018.
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