What happened
Shares of New York Community Bancorp (NYCB -0.33%) declined by more than 13% on Oct. 30, following the release of the bank holding company's third-quarter results.
So what
New York Community Bancorp's net income available to common shareholders rose 2% sequentially to $90.8 million, or $0.19 per share. That matched analysts' estimates.
However, NYCB is facing increased competition from non-bank lenders, which is making it more difficult to grow its loan portfolio. "On the lending front, our loan portfolio continued to grow compared to the level at year-end 2018, led by our multi-family and specialty finance loan portfolios, but our end of period loan portfolio was down modestly compared to the prior quarter," CEO Joseph Ficalora said in a press release.
These lenders are offering more attractive terms to borrowers, albeit at greater risk to themselves. "During the quarter, we experienced a number of loans refinancing away from us, as the dollars offered by alternative lenders did not meet our stringent underwriting standards," Ficalora said.
New York Community Bancorp's shares fell sharply on Wednesday. Image source: Getty Images.
NYCB is also facing heightened competition for deposits. The company said that several competitors have shown a "willingness to pay irrational interest rates" on large institutional deposit balances. Rather than compete with them, NYCB has chosen to instead focus on smaller, lower-cost retail deposits. In turn, its interest-bearing checking and money market accounts declined by $1.6 billion compared to the year-ago period.
Now what
After Wednesday's decline, New York Community Bancorp's $0.17 quarterly cash dividend equates to an annualized yield of approximately 5.8%. That could make its stock appealing to income-focused investors, particularly in the current low-interest rate environment.
