New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB) reported Q4 EPS of $0.20, $0.01 better than the analyst estimate of $0.19.

Earnings:

• Net income for the fourth quarter of 2019 totaled $101.2 million compared to $99.0 million for the third quarter of 2019.
• Net income available to common shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $93.0 million or $0.20 per common share, compared to $90.8 million for the third quarter of 2019, or $0.19 per common share.
• Non-interest expenses were $126.1 million, compared to $123.3 million in the previous quarter; the efficiency ratio was 48.51%.
• Return on average assets was 0.77% for the quarter while return on average common stockholders' equity was 6.01%. (1)
• Return on average tangible assets was 0.81% for the quarter, while return on average tangible common stockholders' equity was 9.89%. (1) (2)

Commenting on the Company's 2019 performance, President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph R. Ficalora stated: "We are pleased with our fourth quarter performance. In many ways, it was the strongest quarter of the year for us and evidences the resiliency of our business model. We were particularly encouraged by the strong rebound in origination activity, which led to solid loan growth during the quarter, as well as the linked-quarter improvement in net interest income and margin. This quarter marks a significant inflection point for the Company in terms of improved fundamentals and we believe it also sets the stage for continued loan growth and margin expansion throughout 2020.

"The loan portfolio increased 4% on a year-over-year basis, in-line with our expectations. This loan growth was driven by growth in both our multi-family and specialty finance portfolios. We also witnessed a rebound in origination volumes during the quarter. In fact, combined, multi-family/CRE originations during the current quarter were the highest level in two years.

"We also saw the net interest margin turn around during the fourth quarter, as it rose five basis points compared to the third quarter, leading to higher net interest income. This was driven by a decline in our overall funding costs and marks the first time since the fourth quarter of 2015 that net interest income and the margin increased. We expect both of these measures to improve throughout the year given our liability sensitive balance sheet, the Federal Reserve's current stance on interest rates, and the significant repricing opportunities within our CD portfolio and wholesale borrowings.

"On the asset quality side, our overall metrics continue to be very strong and remain among the best in the industry. Importantly, we are now six months into the new rent regulation laws in New York State and to date, we are still not seeing any negative asset quality trends in the rent-regulated segment of our multi-family loan portfolio."

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