NYCB Insiders Are Buying Up the Battered Stock

Most of the NYCB stock that DiNello owns were converted from shares of Flagstar Bancorp, which NYCB acquired Dec. 1, 2022. He was named executive chairman of NYCB on Feb. 7, moving from the role of nonexecutive chairman, and was tasked with working alongside President and CEO Thomas R. Cangemi to improve “all aspects of the Bank’s operations.”

DiNello, the former head of Flagstar, told The Wall Street Journal “We’ll do whatever it takes,” to stabilize NYCB.

NYCB didn’t respond to a request to make DiNello or other insiders available for comment.

Director Peter Schoels paid $414,750 for 100,000 NYCB shares, an average price of $4.15 each. He now owns 147,438 NYCB shares in a personal account, and unvested stock awards for 11,220 NYCB shares. Schoels is a managing partner of investment advisor MP Global Advisers.

Lee M. Smith, senior executive vice president and president of mortgage paid $101,250 for 25,000 shares, an average of $4.05 each. He now owns 1.4 million shares in a personal account, and unvested stock awards for 337,792 shares.

President and CEO Thomas R. Cangemi paid $49,900 for 11,310 NYCB shares, an average price of $4.41 each. Cangemi bought the shares through an IRA that now owns 69,704 shares. He also owns 1.2 million shares in a personal account, 133,143 shares through a 401(k) plan, and unvested stock awards for 303,093 shares.

Reginald E. Davis, senior executive vice president and president of banking, paid $4,920 for 1,200 shares, an average price of $4.10 each. Davis now owns 94,317 shares, including unvested restricted stock units in a personal account, and unvested stock awards for 193,553 shares.

Julie Signorille-Browne, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer, paid $9,500 for 2,000 shares, an average price of $4.76 each. Signorille-Browne now owns 22,188 shares in a personal account, 926 shares in a 401(k) plan, and unvested stock awards for 52,380 shares.

Other buyers included directors David Treadwell, a former CEO of manufacturer EaglePicher, and Jennifer R. Whip, a principal with Cambridge One, LLC, and a former
Fannie Mae
executive. Treadwell and Whip paid $62,550 and $21,267, respectively, for 15,000 and 5,100 NYCB shares, each paying an average price of $4.17 per share.

Treadwelll now owns 173,900 NYCB shares, and unvested stock awards for 11,220 shares. Whip now owns 92,864 NYCB shares, and unvested stock awards for 11,220 shares.

On Jan. 31, NYCB disclosed a surprise fourth-quarter loss, and slashed its dividend to bolster capital. The bank cited its acquisition of
Signature Bank
last year, and losses in commercial-real-estate loans. It also set aside more reserves for potential loan losses. Shares tumbled in response. In the days after, another shoe dropped when NYCB’s debt was downgraded to junk.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barron’s feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members—so-called insiders—as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

Write to Ed Lin at [email protected] and follow @BarronsEdLin.