Company Reiterates that Previously Announced
Material Weaknesses Are Not Expected to Impact Full Fiscal Year
2023 Financial Results to be Included in the Form 10-K
Reiterates 2023 Form 10-K Expected to Be Filed
Within the Next 15 Days
George F. Buchanan
III – Seasoned Executive with More Than 30 Years of Risk
Management and Credit Experience – Appointed Executive Vice
President and Chief Risk Officer
Colleen
McCullum – Proven Leader with Over Two Decades of Audit and
Large Bank Experience – Appointed Executive Vice President and
Chief Audit Executive
HICKSVILLE, N.Y., March 1,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- New York Community Bancorp,
Inc. (NYSE: NYCB) (the "Company") today announced the appointments
of George F. Buchanan III as
Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer and Colleen McCullum as Executive Vice President and
Chief Audit Executive, effective immediately.
Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and
the Company's largest individual shareholder, Sandro DiNello, stated, "Over the last three
weeks since being appointed as Executive Chairman, the Company has
taken swift action to improve all aspects of our operations. The
leadership team identified the material weaknesses disclosed
yesterday and has been taking the necessary steps to address them,
including appointing new executives. Our allowance for credit
losses considered these weaknesses and is not expected to change.
The Company has strong liquidity and a solid deposit base, and I am
confident we will execute on our turnaround plan to deliver
increased shareholder value."
Mr. Buchanan brings over 30 years of financial services-related
risk management and credit experience, having previously held roles
at First Union, AmSouth Bank, US Bank, and Regions Bank.
Ms. McCullum joins the Company from United Community Bank,
where she was Chief Audit Executive, and spent considerable time at
large banks, including Capital One, Bank of America, and Wells
Fargo.
Commenting on the appointments, Mr. DiNello stated, "As we
continue our transformation into a larger, more diversified
commercial bank, it is imperative that we strengthen the Company's
risk and compliance framework in order to drive the most value
possible for our clients and shareholders. George and Colleen are
proven leaders with large bank and public company expertise and
successful track records of delivering operational excellence.
George's risk management experience, coupled with Colleen's audit
acumen, will be important as we continue to upgrade our executive
leadership team and ensure we execute on our goals."
About George F. Buchanan
III
Most recently, George F. Buchanan
served in Regions' credit review area. Prior to this, he spent five
years as Chief Risk Officer for Consumer Banking and Wealth
Management, with responsibility for all aspects of risk management.
Additionally, Mr. Buchanan led numerous areas within the credit
division, including commercial, private wealth, small business, and
business services.
Mr. Buchanan previously oversaw risk for the Consumer and Wealth
Management Groups for Regions, a regional bank that operates
throughout the South, Midwest and Texas and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
Prior to this role, Mr. Buchanan was the Commercial Credit
Executive with responsibility for all credit risk management
activities within the Commercial Banking and Private Wealth
segments of Regions. He re-joined Regions in 2011 from U.S. Bank
where he served as senior vice president and Chief Credit Officer
for Small Business and Affluent Banking. Prior to joining U.S. Bank
in 2007, Mr. Buchanan was the Business Banking Senior Credit
Officer for Regions, where he served in many credit roles during
his 13 years with the bank. Mr. Buchanan began his banking career
at First Union in 1992 as a credit analyst.
About Colleen McCullum
Most recently, Colleen McCullum
served as Chief Audit Executive at United Community Bank. She
joined United Community Bank as part of the bank's effort to
dramatically rescale the internal audit program in line with
heightened standards. Prior to joining United Community Bank,
Colleen spent three years at Capital One, most recently serving as
Senior Vice President and Head of Line-of-Business Audit. She led a
team of 90 employees providing assurance coverage for all lines of
business. Prior to that role, she was responsible for Audit
Strategy, Practices, and Innovation at Capital One, where she led
an audit team responsible for implementing a new audit platform.
Before joining Capital One, Colleen spent three years at Bank of
America as Senior Vice President and General Auditor.
Colleen had previously spent 15 years at Wells Fargo, where she
progressed through the organization and became Head of Counterparty
Credit Risk. She successfully implemented a remediation strategy
for long-outstanding regulatory matters, which resulted in
successful resolution. She also previously served as Chief Risk
Officer for the EMEA region. She spent seven years at Mellon Bank
earlier in her career.
About New York Community Bancorp, Inc.
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company of
Flagstar Bank, N.A., one of the largest regional banks in the
country. The Company is headquartered in Hicksville, New York. At December 31, 2023, the Company had $113.9 billion of assets, $85.8 billion of loans, deposits of $81.4 billion, and total stockholders' equity of
$8.4 billion.
Flagstar Bank, N.A. operates 420 branches, including strong
footholds in the Northeast and Midwest and exposure to high growth
markets in the Southeast and West Coast. Flagstar Mortgage operates
nationally through a wholesale network of approximately 3,000
third-party mortgage originators. In addition, the Bank has 134
private banking teams located in over ten cities in the
metropolitan New York City region
and on the West Coast, which serve the needs of high-net worth
individuals and their businesses.
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. has market-leading positions in
several national businesses, including multi-family lending,
mortgage origination and servicing, and warehouse lending. The
Company is the second largest multi-family portfolio lender in the
country and the leading multi-family portfolio lender in the
New York City market area, where
it specializes in rent-regulated, non-luxury apartment buildings.
Flagstar Mortgage is the seventh largest bank originator of
residential mortgages for the 12-months ending December 31,
2023, while we are the industry's fifth largest sub-servicer of
mortgage loans nationwide, servicing 1.4 million accounts with
$382 billion in unpaid principal balances. Additionally, the
Company is the second largest mortgage warehouse lender nationally
based on total commitments.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may include forward‐looking statements by the
Company pertaining to such matters as our goals, intentions, and
expectations regarding the timeframe in which the Company expects
to file its 2023 Form 10-K and the contents thereof; revenues,
earnings, loan production, asset quality, capital levels, and
acquisitions, among other matters; our estimates of future costs
and benefits of the actions we may take; our assessments of
probable losses on loans; our assessments of interest rate and
other market risks; and our ability to achieve our financial and
other strategic goals, including those related to our merger with
Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., which was completed on December 1, 2022, the acquisition of substantial
portions of the former Signature Bank through an FDIC assisted
transaction, and our transition to a $100
billion plus bank.
Forward‐looking statements are typically identified by such
words as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "outlook,"
"estimate," "forecast," "project," "should," and other similar
words and expressions, and are subject to numerous assumptions,
risks, and uncertainties, which change over time. Additionally,
forward‐looking statements speak only as of the date they are made;
the Company does not assume any duty, and does not undertake, to
update our forward‐looking statements. Furthermore, because
forward‐looking statements are subject to assumptions and
uncertainties, actual results or future events could differ,
possibly materially, from those anticipated in our statements, and
our future performance could differ materially from our historical
results.
Our forward‐looking statements are subject to the following
principal risks and uncertainties: general economic conditions and
trends, either nationally or locally; conditions in the securities
markets; changes in interest rates; changes in deposit flows, and
in the demand for deposit, loan, and investment products and other
financial services; changes in real estate values; changes in the
quality or composition of our loan or investment portfolios;
changes in future allowance for credit losses requirements under
relevant accounting and regulatory requirements; the ability to pay
future dividends at currently expected rates; changes in our
capital management and balance sheet strategies and our ability to
successfully implement such strategies; changes in competitive
pressures among financial institutions or from non‐financial
institutions; changes in legislation, regulations, and policies;
the success of our blockchain and fintech activities, investments
and strategic partnerships; the restructuring of our mortgage
business; the impact of failures or disruptions in or breaches of
the Company's operational or security systems, data or
infrastructure, or those of third parties, including as a result of
cyberattacks or campaigns; the impact of natural disasters, extreme
weather events, military conflict (including the Russia/Ukraine conflict, the conflict in Israel and surrounding areas, the possible
expansion of such conflicts and potential geopolitical
consequences), terrorism or other geopolitical events; and a
variety of other matters which, by their nature, are subject to
significant uncertainties and/or are beyond our control. Our
forward-looking statements are also subject to the following
principal risks and uncertainties with respect to our merger with
Flagstar Bancorp, which was completed on December 1, 2022, and the Signature Transaction:
the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the transactions
will not be realized when expected or at all; the possibility of
increased legal and compliance costs, including with respect to any
litigation or regulatory actions related to the business practices
of acquired companies or the combined business; diversion of
management's attention from ongoing business operations and
opportunities; the possibility that the Company may be unable to
achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies in or as a
result of the transactions within the expected timeframes or at
all; and revenues following the transactions may be lower than
expected. Additionally, there can be no assurance that the
Community Benefits Agreement entered into with NCRC, which was
contingent upon the closing of the Company's merger with Flagstar
Bancorp, Inc., will achieve the results or outcome originally
expected or anticipated by us as a result of changes to our
business strategy, performance of the U.S. economy, or changes to
the laws and regulations affecting us, our customers, communities
we serve, and the U.S. economy (including, but not limited to, tax
laws and regulations).
More information regarding some of these factors is provided in
the Risk Factors section of our Annual Report on Form 10‐K for the
year ended December 31, 2022,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2023, June 30,
2023, and September 30, 2023
and in other SEC reports we file. Our forward‐looking statements
may also be subject to other risks and uncertainties, including
those we may discuss in this Amendment, during investor
presentations, or in our other SEC filings, which are accessible on
our website and at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov.
Investor Contact:
Salvatore J. DiMartino
(516) 683-4286
Media Contact:
Steven Bodakowski
248-312-5872
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SOURCE New York Community Bancorp, Inc.