NYCB Stock Plummets in the Aftermath of 2023’s Banking Crisis

New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYCB:US) stock declined by 23.10% in a single trading session on March 4, 2024 Monday. The decline follows the bank's struggle to stay afloat amidst changing regulations and new laws. The pressure on NYCB first arrived on January 31, 2024, when NYCB posted its Q4 2023 results. The bank reported a net loss for the quarter at $260 million, as well as cutting its dividend. 

Back in 2021, NYCB merged with Flagstar Bank, with an aim to improve the bank's competitiveness and standing in the market. In 2023, on March 20, Flagstar - now NYCB’s subsidiary - announced that it would be acquiring most of the assets and liabilities of Signature Bank (SBNY:US(. On March 12, 2023, government regulators shut down Signature Bank because they were worried that many depositors were withdrawing their money in large amounts. This happened after Silicon Valley Bank failed; many worried that SVB's failure would cause a ripple effect in the financial system. 

Back then, NYCB had purchased assets worth nearly $38 billion, including cash totaling as much as $25 billion and up to $13 billion worth of loans. 

In the past week, NYCB disclosed significant shortcomings in its risk monitoring capabilities, prompting the replacement of CEO Thomas Cangemi with Flagstar's Sandro DiNello. Investors are concerned that the new leadership may allocate additional funds to address deteriorating loans, particularly following the staggering $552 million loss that startled the market in January. Credit rating agencies have downgraded NYCB's rating to junk status, leading to a plummet of 73% in its shares over the course of this year.

On the other hand, U.S. Congress members have stated that they are inspecting NYCB’s deterioration while the pressure on smaller, regional banks is still as strong as it was a year ago. In 2023, several lawmakers were highlighted for selling off shares primely before the three banks collapsed. Around the same time, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis purchased up to $15,000 worth of NYCB shares on March 17, less than a week before it was announced that the bank would be purchasing Signature’s assets. NYCB has declined by 50.76% since then, but there has been no news of a sale so far. Rep. Daniel Goldman also traded: he sold his NYCB stake on April 10, 2023, along with stakes in more than 180 issuers that amounted to nearly $9.83 million.

Although down by 69.07% YTD, NYCB stock climbed the charts on March 5’s trading session. The stock closed almost 17.95% higher at $3.22.