New York Community Bancorp, Inc. Reports 4th Quarter 2007 Diluted Cash Earnings Per Share of $0.25 and Diluted GAAP and Operating Earnings Per Share of $0.21

Business Wire, Jan 29, 2008

For the Full Year, the Company Reports Diluted Cash EPS of $1.13 and Diluted GAAP EPS of $0.90((1))

Board of Directors Declares $0.25 per Share Quarterly Cash Dividend

WESTBURY, N.Y. -- Performance Highlights

* Solid Asset Quality: Non-performing assets represented 0.07% of total assets at 12/31/07, a one-basis point improvement from the 12/31/06 measure and consistent with the measure at 9/30/07. Non-performing loans represented 0.11% of total loans at 12/31/07, consistent with the measures recorded at the earlier dates.

* Net Interest Margin: Excluding prepayment penalty income, our 4Q 2007 margin expanded 14 basis points linked-quarter and 16 basis points year-over-year to 2.29%. Including prepayment penalty income, the margin dropped five basis points linked-quarter but rose nine basis points year-over-year to 2.36%.

* Organic Loan Growth with Improved Loan Pricing: Loan originations totaled $1.5 billion during 4Q 2007, contributing to a $1.4 billion, or 7.2%, linked-quarter increase in total loans. During the quarter, the average yield on new multi-family and commercial real estate loans was 228 basis points higher than the average five-year Constant Maturity Treasury rate.

* Strong Operating Efficiency: Our operating efficiency ratio was 43.44% in 4Q 2007 and 41.18% for the full year.(3)

* Synergy Acquisition Completed: The acquisition of Synergy Financial Group, Inc. ("Synergy") was completed on October 1, 2007, boosting our New Jersey franchise to 53 branches and our market rank among thrifts in the state from 18th to 5th.

* Franchise Expansion: As a result of the acquisitions we completed in 2007, we increased our franchise from 162 to 218 branches and our number of core deposit accounts by 8.6% year-over-year.

* Tangible Capital Strength: The ratio of tangible stockholders' equity to tangible assets rose 14 basis points to 5.88% during 4Q 2007, excluding after-tax mark-to-market securities adjustments. Including adjustments, the ratio improved 14 basis points, to 5.83%, at December 31st.(4)

New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: NYB) (the "Company") today reported fourth quarter 2007 GAAP earnings of $67.4 million and operating earnings of $67.5 million, both of which were equivalent to $0.21 per diluted share. The Company also reported fourth quarter 2007 cash earnings of $79.8 million, equivalent to $0.25 per diluted share.(1)(2)

The Company's fourth quarter 2007 GAAP earnings were up $14.3 million, or 26.8%, from the year-earlier level, equivalent to a $0.03, or 16.7%, increase in diluted earnings per share. Its operating earnings rose $5.8 million year-over-year and, on a diluted per-share basis, were consistent with the fourth quarter 2006 amount. The Company's fourth quarter 2007 cash earnings were up $14.0 million from the level recorded in the year-earlier quarter, and were equivalent to a $0.03, or 13.6%, increase in diluted cash earnings per share. (1)(2)

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2007, the Company reported GAAP earnings of $279.1 million and operating earnings of $275.3 million, equivalent to $0.90 and $0.88, respectively, per diluted share. The Company's 2007 GAAP earnings were $46.5 million, or 20.0%, higher than those reported for the year-earlier period, and were equivalent to a $0.09, or 11.1%, increase in diluted GAAP earnings per share. The Company's 2007 operating earnings were $11.7 million higher than those reported in the year-earlier period, equivalent to a $0.04 reduction in diluted operating earnings per share. The Company's cash earnings rose $88.0 million, or 33.2%, year-over-year to $352.7 million, equivalent to a $0.21, or 22.8%, increase in diluted cash earnings per share to $1.13. (Please see page 13 of this release for a reconciliation of the Company's GAAP and operating earnings, and page 14 for a reconciliation of its GAAP and cash earnings, for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2007.)

Commenting on the highlights of the Company's fourth quarter and full-year performance, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Joseph R. Ficalora stated, "Our ability to distinguish ourselves through the quality of our assets is undeniably important in view of the significant charges being taken by many financial service providers as the credit cycle continues its downward turn. While we do not expect to remain immune to the cycle, we do believe that the nature of our loans and our conservative underwriting and credit standards will continue to support the performance of our loan portfolio during this difficult time.

"The fact that we have no subprime or Alt-A loans in our loan or investment portfolios certainly works to our advantage, and I should also note that one-to-four family mortgages represented less than 2% of our total loan portfolio at year-end. Furthermore, construction loans represented less than 6% of outstanding loans at the end of December. While our past performance is no guarantee of what may occur in the future, the fact is that we've recorded no losses on our construction loan portfolio for nearly 15 years.