Flagstar Bancorp Reports Second Quarter 2021 Net Income of $147 million, or $2.74 Per Diluted Share

TROY, Mich., July 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Key Highlights - Second Quarter 2021

• Generated net interest income of $183 million, with net interest margin increasing 8 basis points.
• Produced mortgage revenue of $163 million as fallout adjusted locks remained strong at $12.4 billion.
• Maintained solid asset quality with low levels of nonperforming loans; reduced allowance for credit loss reserve by $45 million.
• Generated significant capital with total risk-based capital ratio increasing 95 basis points to 14.1 percent.
• Produced exceptional return on average tangible common equity of 25.9 percent and return on average assets of 2.1 percent.

Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC), the holding company for Flagstar Bank, today reported second quarter 2021 net income of $147 million, or $2.74 per diluted share, compared to first quarter 2021 net income of $149 million, or $2.80 per diluted share, which on an adjusted basis was $176 million, or $3.31 per diluted share. Second quarter 2020 net income was $116 million, or $2.03 per diluted share.

"We posted another solid quarter – our fifth consecutive quarter where diluted earnings exceeded $2.00 per share," said Alessandro DiNello, president and chief executive officer of Flagstar Bancorp. "Highlights included net interest margin expansion, strong asset quality, steady growth in our servicing portfolio, and excellent mortgage results that remain above historical averages. Of special note was our execution of four private label securitizations during the quarter, further demonstrating the versatility of our mortgage business and the optionality it provides – truly a differentiator for Flagstar in the industry. These positives combined to produce a 6 percent growth in tangible book value and continued a trend of achieving return on assets in excess of 2 percent. Our return on average tangible common equity in the last 12 months has been a remarkable 31 percent, and in the 12 months prior to that, an impressive 18 percent.

"Credit quality remained strong, and we continue to be encouraged by the low levels of nonperforming loans and net charge-offs. And I'm pleased to say that we have no commercial loans currently in deferral. This performance, along with an improved forecast for the macroeconomic environment, enabled us to release $45 million of our allowance for credit losses. Even with this release, excluding warehouse loans, our coverage ratio was 2.6 percent  – among the strongest in the industry."

"As we move closer to completing our previously announced partnership with New York Community Bank, we are well positioned with strong fundamentals and a demonstrated power to generate capital. Until then, we are focusing on ensuring a smooth transition and continuing to execute on the business plan that has served our shareholders so well and brought us to this pivotal point in the history of our company."

Net Interest Income

Net interest income in the second quarter was $183 million, a decrease of $6 million, or 3 percent as compared to the first quarter 2021. The results primarily reflect lower earning assets, the result of lower warehouse and loans held-for-sale (LHFS) balances during the quarter. Average earning assets declined $1.9 billion, or 7 percent, as warehouse balances were $1.0 billion, or 15 percent lower and LHFS declined $0.6 billion. These declines were, partially offset by a favorable decrease in funding costs and broad-based increases in loan yields.

The net interest margin in the second quarter was 2.90 percent, an 8 basis point increase from the prior quarter. Excluding the impact from the loans with government guarantees that have not been repurchased and do not accrue interest, adjusted net interest margin expanded 4 basis points to 3.06 percent in the second quarter, compared to adjusted net interest margin of 3.02 percent in the prior quarter. The expansion in net interest margin was largely attributable to an increase in LHFS yields due to a mix shift to higher yielding products supporting our residential mortgage-backed securities program, higher LHFI yields and lower deposit costs. Retail banking deposit rates decreased 4 basis points primarily driven by the maturity of higher cost time deposits. 

Average total deposits were $19.1 billion in the second quarter, decreasing $1.0 billion, or 5 percent from the first quarter 2021. Average custodial deposits decreased $1.0 billion, or 14 percent primarily driven by decreasing mortgage payoff rates and actions taken to manage internal liquidity measures.

Provision for Credit Losses

The benefit for credit losses was $44 million for the second quarter, as compared to a $28 million benefit for credit losses for the first quarter 2021, reflecting the performance of our portfolio and improved economic forecasts. Additionally, net charge-offs remained low at $1 million for the quarter, or 1 basis point of LHFI.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income decreased $72 million to $252 million in the second quarter, as compared to $324 million for the first quarter 2021, primarily due to lower mortgage revenues and loan fees and charges.

Second quarter net gain on loan sales decreased $59 million, to $168 million, as compared to $227 million in the first quarter 2021. Gain on sale margins decreased 49 basis points, to 1.35 percent for the second quarter 2021, as compared to 1.84 percent for the first quarter 2021. The decrease was primarily driven by competitive factors and channel-mix based margin compression.

Net loss on mortgage servicing rights was $5 million in the second quarter 2021, reflecting an $8 million write off of mortgage servicing right fair value for those loans with government guarantees that were repurchased during the quarter. In addition, mortgage refinance activity continued to be elevated compared to historical norms which impacted prepayment speeds and overall net return on mortgage servicing rights.

Loan fees and charges decreased $5 million, to $37 million for the second quarter, compared to $42 million for the first quarter 2021, primarily due to a 7 percent decrease in mortgage loans closed.  

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense decreased to $289 million for the second quarter, compared to $347 million for the first quarter 2021. Excluding the $35 million expense related to the DOJ settlement liability in the first quarter 2021 and $9 million of merger expenses in the second quarter 2021, noninterest expense decreased $32 million, or 10 percent. The decrease in noninterest expense primarily reflects lower commissions as mortgage loan closings decreased 7 percent compared to the prior quarter and the prior quarter included expenses associated with seasonally higher payroll taxes which did not reoccur. The second quarter included a $10 million benefit from an agreement to reduce the 2009 former CEO supplemental executive retirement plan liability.

Mortgage expenses were $131 million for the second quarter, a decrease of $17 million compared to the prior quarter. The ratio of mortgage noninterest expense to closings – our mortgage expense ratio – was 1.03 percent, a decrease of 5 basis points quarter over quarter, primarily driven by lower commissions.

The efficiency ratio was 67 percent for the second quarter, as compared to 68 percent for the first quarter 2021. Excluding the $35 million expense related to the DOJ settlement liability, the adjusted efficiency ratio was 61 percent for the first quarter, primarily driven by the strength of mortgage revenue in the first quarter.

Income Taxes

The second quarter provision for income taxes totaled $43 million, with an effective tax rate of 22.5 percent, compared to $45 million and an effective tax rate of 23.0 percent for the first quarter 2021.

Asset Quality

The allowance for credit losses was $220 million and covered 1.57 percent of loans held-for-investment at June 30, 2021, a 21 basis point decrease from March 31, 2021. Excluding warehouse loans, the allowance coverage ratio was 2.63 percent, a 48 basis point decrease from March 31, 2021. The lower allowance for credit losses primarily reflects improvements in our economic forecasts and the performance of the LHFI portfolio throughout the pandemic.

Net charge-offs in the second quarter 2021 were $1 million, compared to $13 million of net recoveries in the prior quarter. Net charge-offs for the second quarter were 1 basis point of LHFI, compared to 8 basis points in the prior quarter when excluding the $16 million commercial loan recovery obtained in the quarter.

Nonperforming loans and troubled debt restructurings (TDRs) were $74 million and our ratio of nonperforming loans and TDRs to loans held-for-investment was 53 basis points at June 30, 2021, a 13 basis point increase compared to March 31, 2021 as nonperforming loans remained low and LHFI balances decreased $0.8 billion. At June 30, 2021, early stage loan delinquencies totaled $12 million, or 9 basis points of total loans, compared to $15 million, or 10 basis points, at March 31, 2021.

Capital

The Company maintained a solid capital position with regulatory ratios above current regulatory quantitative guidelines for "well capitalized" institutions. The capital ratios are impacted by a 100 percent risk-weighting of the warehouse loan portfolio – the largest component of the Company's held-for-investment portfolio. Adjusting the risk-weighting of warehouse loans to 50 percent, because of the historically low level of losses from this loan portfolio and the fact that the portfolio is fully collateralized with assets that would receive a 50 percent risk weighting, the Company would have had a Tier 1 common equity ratio of 13.13 percent and a total risk-based capital ratio of 16.30 percent at June 30, 2021.

Importantly, tangible book value per share grew to $44.38, up $2.61, or 6 percent from last quarter.

About Flagstar

Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) is a $27.1 billion savings and loan holding company headquartered in Troy, Mich. Flagstar Bank, FSB, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services through 158 branches in Michigan, Indiana, California, Wisconsin and Ohio. It also provides home loans through a wholesale network of brokers and correspondents in all 50 states, as well as 86 retail locations in 28 states. Flagstar is a leading national originator and servicer of mortgage and other consumer loans, handling payments and record keeping for $255.7 billion of loans representing almost 1.2 million borrowers. For more information, please visit flagstar.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to results presented in accordance with GAAP, this news release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide additional information that is useful to investors in helping to understand the capital requirements Flagstar will face in the future and underlying performance and trends of Flagstar.

Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations. Readers should be aware of these limitations and should be cautious with respect to the use of such measures. To compensate for these limitations, we use non-GAAP measures as comparative tools, together with GAAP measures, to assist in the evaluation of our operating performance or financial condition. Also, we ensure that these measures are calculated using the appropriate GAAP or regulatory components in their entirety and that they are computed in a manner intended to facilitate consistent period-to-period comparisons. Flagstar's method of calculating these non-GAAP measures may differ from methods used by other companies. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for those financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP or in-effect regulatory requirements.

Where non-GAAP financial measures are used, the most directly comparable GAAP or regulatory financial measure, as well as the reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP or regulatory financial measure, can be found in this news release. Additional discussion of the use of non-GAAP measures can also be found in periodic Flagstar reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the Company's website at flagstar.com.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward–looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to New York Community Banks ("NYCB") and Flagstar's beliefs, goals, intentions, and expectations regarding revenues, earnings, loan production, asset quality, capital levels, and acquisitions, among other matters; NYCB's and Flagstar's estimates of future costs and benefits of the actions each company may take; NYCB's and Flagstar's assessments of probable losses on loans; NYCB's and Flagstar's assessments of interest rate and other market risks; and NYCB's and Flagstar's ability to achieve their respective financial and other strategic goals.

Forward–looking statements are typically identified by such words as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "outlook," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "should," and other similar words and expressions, and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, which change over time. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, those relating to the terms, timing and closing of the proposed transaction.

Additionally, forward–looking statements speak only as of the date they are made; NYCB and Flagstar do not assume any duty, and do not undertake, to update such forward–looking statements. Furthermore, because forward–looking statements are subject to assumptions and uncertainties, actual results or future events could differ, possibly materially, from those indicated in such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are beyond the control of NYCB and Flagstar. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the definitive merger agreement among NYCB, 615 Corp. and Flagstar; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against NYCB or Flagstar; the possibility that the proposed transaction will not close when expected or at all because required regulatory, shareholder or other approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all, or are obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; the ability of NYCB and Flagstar to meet expectations regarding the timing, completion and accounting and tax treatments of the proposed transaction; the risk that any announcements relating to the proposed transaction could have adverse effects on the market price of the common stock of NYCB or Flagstar; the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction will not be realized when expected or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of the two companies or as a result of the strength of the economy and competitive factors in the areas where NYCB and Flagstar do business; certain restrictions during the pendency of the proposed transaction that may impact the parties' ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; the possibility that the proposed transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management's attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; the possibility that the parties may be unable to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies in the proposed transaction within the expected timeframes or at all and to successfully integrate Flagstar's operations and those of NYCB; such integration may be more difficult, time consuming or costly than expected; revenues following the proposed transaction may be lower than expected; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; NYCB's and Flagstar's success in executing their respective business plans and strategies and managing the risks involved in the foregoing; the dilution caused by NYCB's issuance of additional shares of its capital stock in connection with the proposed transaction; and other factors that may affect future results of NYCB and Flagstar; and the other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section NYCB's Annual Report on Form 10–K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in other reports NYCB files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available at https://www.sec.gov and in the "SEC Filings" section of NYCB's website, https://ir.mynycb.com, under the heading "Financial Information," and in Flagstar's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in Flagstar's other filings with SEC, which are available at https://www.sec.gov and in the "Documents" section of Flagstar's website, https://investors.flagstar.com.