Regional bank that played rescuer in 2023 now in turmoil

New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) played the role of rescuer during a 2023 regional bank crisis by purchasing some assets of the failed Signature Bank. Now it is experiencing some trouble of its own.

The stock of the Hicksville, N.Y.-based lender fell 46% Wednesday after it reported a surprise net loss of $252 million for the fourth quarter and announced a suspension of its dividend.

It recovered some of those losses by 11:30 a.m. ET, when it was down 34%, but it is still on track to post the largest one-day percentage drop in the stock’s history.

The news sent new shockwaves through the regional banking world as stocks of other mid-sized lenders such as Valley National Bancorp (VLY), BankUnited (BKU) and Western Alliance (WAL) fell back. An index that tracks those banks was down 3%.

New York Community Bank’s new troubles can be traced back to how it responded to a crisis that roiled the regional banking world in 2023. Signature was one of three sizable regional lenders that failed between March and May, triggering panic about the strength of many other mid-sized financial institutions across the US.

NYCB’s decision to absorb billions in loans seized from that fallen rival pushed the bank above an important asset threshold of $100 billion, subjecting the company to higher regulatory standards. Bigger banks in the US are required to set aside more capital to give them sizable buffers against future losses.

That, the company said, is the reason it cut its dividend and boosted the money set aside for loan losses. It said that number was $552 million, well above analyst estimates.

“We took decisive actions to build capital, reinforce our balance sheet, strengthen our risk management processes, and better align ourselves with the relevant bank peers,” CEO Thomas Cangemi said in a release Wednesday.

The bank’s predicament is one faced by many regional lenders as they…