United Community Banks, the community bank, has collapsed again, with NYCB nearly halving in two days, and its credit rating downgraded to "junk."
New York Community Bancorp's stock price has dropped nearly 49% for two consecutive trading days, and has plummeted by 73.78% year-to-date. Both Fitch and Moody's have downgraded their ratings. Analysts point out that the downgrade in credit ratings will increase the company's cost of capital, leading to further deterioration of its financial situation.
NYCB's credit rating has been downgraded to "junk status", with the stock price plummeting nearly 49% over two consecutive trading days.
Overnight on March 4th, New York Community Bancorp's stock price dropped over 23% following a 26% plunge last Friday, hitting a new low since 1996 with a total decline of 73.78% so far this year.
Some analysts pointed out that the bank's disclosure last Friday of significant issues in monitoring and managing loan risks, as well as the negative news of CEO replacement, raised concerns among investors about the further deterioration of NYCB's financial condition, leading to the sharp decline in stock price.
Furthermore, the downgrade in credit rating and negative stock ratings by analysts added fuel to the bank's decline. Two rating agencies have downgraded NYCB, with Fitch Ratings lowering it to "junk status". In February, Moody's had already downgraded NYCB's credit rating to junk. Last Friday, Moody's further downgraded the long-term deposit rating of NYCB's main bank, Flagstar Bank, from Baa2 to Ba3.
At the same time, Wedbush Securities Inc. analyst David Chiaverini believes that the company's stock returns will underperform the market average. He pointed out that the downgrade in credit rating will increase the company's capital costs, putting financial pressure on the company, as a credit rating downgrade usually means higher borrowing costs and investors demanding higher rates to compensate for increased risks.
Despite NYCB's relatively strong performance compared to other regional banks at the beginning of 2023, its stock price has been declining since the release of the financial report in January, losing two-thirds of its value so far this year. The report showed that the bank significantly reduced dividends and increased loan loss reserves, indicating that more loans may not be recovered in the future, which is typically seen as a sign of deteriorating bank performance, further impacting the stock price.
Although NYCB's stock price has fallen, overall bank stocks have performed well, with the KBW Bank Index rising by up to 2.8% on Monday, including a 0.8% increase in the regional bank index, which includes NYCB.