Embattled bank’s shares oscillate after it says deposits rose

The company has been under pressure since recent acquisitions triggered additional regulatory scrutiny.

Shares of New York Community Bancorp, which touched a 27-year low Tuesday, swung between losses and gains after the bank tried to reassure investors that its financial position is strong.

Deposits have increased since the end of last year and liquidity remains “ample,” the company said in a statement late Tuesday. The stock slipped 1% at 9:32 a.m. in New York, extending a decline of about 60% since last week, when NYCB announced plans to slash its dividend and stockpile reserves for troubled loans tied to commercial real estate.

Recent acquisitions catapulted the bank’s assets beyond $100 billion, a level that triggers additional regulatory scrutiny and capital requirements. The bank took steps to shore up capital after mounting behind-the-scenes pressure from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Bloomberg reported late Monday. Two executives overseeing risk and auditing left their posts in recent months.

The company will name a new chief risk officer soon, but has a “great interim audit executive in place,” Alessandro DiNello, who was named executive chairman Wednesday, said on a conference call with analysts. DiNello had been non-executive chairman and previously ran Flagstar Bancorp Inc., which NYCB bought in late 2022.

NYCB has already curtailed its exposure to commercial real estate and has seen “virtually no” deposit outflows from retail branches, DiNello said on the call.

Total liquidity of $37.3 billion exceeds uninsured deposits of about $22.9 billion, excluding collateralized and internal deposits, NYCB said in a statement late Tuesday. Total deposits of $83 billion represent an increase from the end of last year, according to the statement.

“The company’s liquidity and deposit positions are markedly better than almost anybody thought yesterday,” Piper Sandler & Co. analysts Mark Fitzgibbon and Gregory Zingone wrote in a note Wednesday.

Moody’s Investors Service cut the bank’s credit rating to junk late Tuesday, citing “multifaceted” financial risks and governance challenges. In its statement, NYCB said the move by Moody’s isn’t expected to have a material impact on the bank’s contractual arrangements. NYCB’s deposit ratings from Moody’s and others remain investment grade, it said.

The bank has no plans to raise capital but could if needed, DiNello said on the call.