New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB) reported Q1 EPS of $0.19, in-line with the analyst estimate of $0.19.

• Net income for the first quarter of 2019 was $97.6 million compared to $101.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2018.
• Net income available to common shareholders for the first quarter of 2019 was $89.4 million compared to $93.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, $0.19 per common share, unchanged from the prior quarter.
• Non-interest expenses rose $3.8 million to $138.8 million compared to fourth quarter 2018, while the efficiency ratio was 52.15%. Excluding certain items totaling approximately $9.0 million, non-interest expenses(3), on a non-GAAP basis, were $129.7 million, down 4% compared to fourth quarter 2018.(2)
• The adjusted efficiency ratio, excluding these two items, declined 117 basis points to 48.75%.(2)
• Return on average assets was 0.76% for the current first quarter while return on average common stockholders' equity was 5.86% (1)
• Return on average tangible assets was 0.79% for the current first quarter, while return on average tangible common stockholders' equity was 9.74%. (1) (2)

Commenting on the Company's first quarter 2019 performance, President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph R. Ficalora stated: "The Company has gotten off to a good start in 2019. Despite NIM pressure, which we were able to offset with operating leverage and report an in-line quarter. On a per share basis, diluted earnings per common share for the three months ended March 31, 2019 were $0.19, unchanged from the three months ended December 31, 2018. Our first quarter 2019 results show continued growth in our loan portfolio, strong deposit inflows, solid asset quality and a further reduction in our operating expenses.

"Our loan portfolio increased $360 million or 4% on an annualized basis compared to the level at the end of 2018. All of our major loan categories registered growth during the current first quarter, especially our specialty finance loan portfolio, which rose $315 million or 63% on an annualized basis compared to year-end.

"We were also pleased to see the strong deposit growth we experienced throughout 2018 continue into the first quarter of 2019. Total deposits rose $836.7 million or 11% annualized, during the quarter. In addition to CD growth, we also had growth in savings accounts and in non-interest bearing accounts, as well. For all of 2018, we grew overall deposits by $1.7 billion or 6%, so first quarter deposit growth trends are encouraging.

"While we continued to re-deploy our cash into higher yielding assets such as investment securities, given the strong deposit growth during the quarter, we used most of our cash to pay down our borrowings and purchased less investment securities given market conditions during the first quarter.

"Last year, we reduced our operating expenses by nearly $100 million. During the current quarter, we reduced our total non-interest expenses by $5 million, excluding the impact from certain items, related to severance costs and branch rationalization, compared to the prior quarter. While this was an impressive accomplishment, we continue to focus on further reducing our expense base in 2019.

"During the first quarter, we sold our wealth management subsidiary, Peter B. Cannell & Co., Inc. While non-interest income will decline, it will be substantially offset by the cost savings related to this subsidiary. Additionally, we also entered into an agreement with our third-party provider of non-depositary products and services. Under this new agreement, our financial consultants will be employed by them, but will still service our customer base. This arrangement will continue to generate fee income for the Company, without the overhead associated with a large salesforce. This will result in considerably less compensation expenses going forward and help us achieve our on-going cost savings initiatives.

"On the asset quality front, our metrics continue to be very strong and we are not seeing any weakness in our core multi-family business. Overall, our asset quality metrics remain among the best across the industry.

"Lastly, during the first quarter, we continued to execute on our share repurchase program."

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