New York Community Bancorp leaders vow to strengthen the Hicksville-based lender's finances

The new head of New York Community Bancorp Inc. vowed on Wednesday to “do whatever it takes” to strengthen the Hicksville-based lender’s finances after it reported a quarterly loss that sparked a massive stock sell-off on Wall Street.

“We’ve gotten a couple of, you know, tough, tough punches to the gut, but we’re strong,” said Alessandro “Sandro” DiNello, who was named executive chairman by the NYCB board of directors on Tuesday night. He had been in a lesser role.

“If we must shrink then we’ll shrink,” DiNello told stock analysts on Wednesday. “If we must sell non-strategic assets then we’ll do that. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

DiNello’s comments helped NYCB shares rebound a bit from Tuesday. They closed up 28 cents, or 6.7%, to $4.48 per share on Wednesday in New York Stock Exchange trading. But that’s still more than 50% lower than on Jan. 30, the day before the bank announced that it lost money the October-December quarter and would cut its dividend to conserve cash.

DiNello’s remarks also followed the bank’s credit rating being downgraded to “junk” by the ratings agency Moody’s on Tuesday.

NYCB’s woes brought back memories of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which both failed last year and were taken over by government regulators. NYCB eventually purchased some Signature assets.

“Overall, deposits are up from year-end 2023,” DiNello, former president and CEO of Flagstar Bank, said during Wednesday’s conference call. NYCB acquired Flagstar in late 2022.

“Deposits have held very strong,” he said, responding to a question about how people with checking and savings accounts have reacted to NYCB’s plummeting stock price. “We are very, very pleased with the way they’ve performed.”

In Huntington Station, several customers said they were withdrawing their money and closing accounts at the Roslyn Savings Bank branch — which is part of NYCB — after learning about the bank’s troubles. The customers declined to give their names or discuss their actions with a Newsday reporter.

Other customers adopted a wait-and-see approach.

June German, of Dix Hills, said she was aware of NYCB’s falling stock price but felt comfortable banking there because her money is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

“I don't care,” she said. “I don't come in and out of the bank often, and I know it's federally insured.”

Anna Brucculeri, 55, of North Babylon, said she had been a Roslyn Savings customer for 20 years and was unaware of its parent’s struggles.

“They've been great as a bank so far … I haven't had any issues with them,” Brucculeri said. “I didn't realize they might be struggling. They have a long track record. With stocks falling, I'm going to do some research,” she said.

NYCB, which dates to the founding of Queens County Savings Bank in 1859 and Roslyn Savings in 1875, has a large portfolio of real estate loans and has been negatively impacted by changes in the housing and office markets, according to experts.

NYCB executives said they intend to further reduce its real estate portfo lio  after selling a number of housing loans. The bank is regulated by the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, where a spokeswoman declined to comment on Wednesday night.  

Anoop Rai, a finance professor at Hofstra University’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business, said other banks may struggle in the future.

“We’re going to see a few more scenarios like this,” said Rai, who studies banking and international finance. “But as far as small-time depositors … they do not have to worry” because their accounts are federally insured.