Flushing Financial acquires Empire Bancorp in $85M deal

Flushing Financial Corp., the holding company of Flushing Bank, has acquired Islandia-based Empire Bancorp Inc. in an $85.4 million deal that gives the Uniondale bank access to the Suffolk County market.

The closing of the acquisition on Oct. 30 incorporates Empire's banking offices in Islandia, Shirley, Port Jefferson Station and Mineola into Flushing Financials 20-branch network in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Nassau County.

John Buran, Flushing Financial's chief executive, said the acquisition adds $1 billion to the $7 billion in assets held by the pre-merger company at a time when size is a key determinant of success.

"The banking business, to a great degree, is a scale business," he said, in part because of the need to invest in technology in an effort to keep pace with larger competitors. "The coronavirus shutdown has accelerated people's willingness to do things online."

Buran said Flushing Financial, eager to get a toehold in Suffolk, approached Empire, which had about $1 billion in assets, about a potential merger.

The acquisition was announced in the fall of 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic "put everything on hold," he said.

Flushing Financial added about 50 of Empire's employees, bringing its head count to roughly 500, Buran said.

Flushing Financial's largest unit is in business loans, including more than 450 loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal measure designed to forestall layoffs during the pandemic.

One company initiative calls for courting the Asian community, which had outstanding loans of about $650 million and deposits worth about $900 million at the bank as of the third quarter.

Efforts include sponsorships of cultural events and offering multilingual services at branches.

"Our society is moving toward multiculturalism," Buran said. "New York City is a perfect example. Parts of Nassau and Suffolk county are places where the Asian community is growing."

Buran said the bank's competitors include the major money-center banks like Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as well as regional banks like Dime Community Bancshares Inc., which in July announced a merger with Bridge Bancorp in a $489 million deal.

"New York is a locus of banking and financial activity," he said. "We're operating in a land of behemoths."

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.