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

"Another fourth quarter highlight was our net interest margin. Excluding prepayment penalty income, our margin rose 14 basis points to 2.29% on a linked-quarter basis, and 16 basis points year-over-year. Although 2007 prepayment penalty income rose $28.1 million, or 95.2%, year-over-year to $57.6 million, the fourth quarter amount was only $4.5 million, down $12.6 million from the trailing-quarter level and $4.2 million from the year-earlier amount. Nonetheless, our margin declined a modest five basis points in the fourth quarter of 2007, and was up nine basis points, year-over-year, to 2.36%. Importantly, our margin, when calculated absent the impact of prepayment penalty income, widened in each of the last three quarters of the year.

"After several quarters of sitting back while the conduits competed for loans at terms we wouldn't consider, we were pleased to step up our lending in the last three months of the year. Originations totaled $1.5 billion during the fourth quarter, exceeding the year-earlier volume by $479.3 million and the trailing-quarter volume by $274.2 million. In addition, the changes in the marketplace have enabled us to price our multi-family and commercial real estate loans at higher spreads than we've seen in many, many quarters--an average of 228 basis points above the average five-year CMT, in fact.

"While the growth of our earnings was limited by the decline in prepayment penalty income, our fourth quarter performance reflected certain improvements that speak to the benefit of our actions over the course of the year. For example, our net interest income rose 9.7% year-over-year, as we increased our balance of interest-earning assets, both organically and through acquisitions, and, at the same time, took steps to contain our cost of funds. In addition, our diluted GAAP earnings per share rose nearly 17% year-over-year, to $0.21 in the fourth quarter of 2007, while our diluted cash earnings per share rose nearly 14% to $0.25 per diluted share.(1)

"Among the factors contributing to our 2007 performance was the continuation of our growth-through-acquisition strategy. With the acquisitions of PennFed, Synergy, and Doral's branch network in New York City, we added 45 branches to our Community Bank franchise in New Jersey and 11 to our Commercial Bank franchise in New York. All three transactions were immediately accretive to earnings, and all three provided an opportunity to enhance our balance sheet. As a result, we believe we are well positioned to withstand the challenges posed by the current credit cycle, and to be strategically opportunistic in the quarters that lie ahead.

"The actions we took during the year to enhance our earnings also served to strengthen our tangible stockholders' equity. At the end of December, tangible capital represented 5.88% of tangible assets excluding mark-to-market adjustments, up 14 basis points linked-quarter and 22 basis points year-over-year. Including adjustments, the ratio rose to 5.83% at December 31, 2007, from 5.69% and 5.47% at the prior period-ends." (4)