New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) shares plummeted in pre-market trading on Friday after the regional lender reported a steep $280 million loss for the third quarter, weighed down by higher provisions to cover potential loan losses in its troubled commercial real estate (CRE) portfolio.
The quarterly loss of $0.79 per diluted share marked a sharp reversal from a profit of $199 million or $0.81 per share in the year-ago period. It also fell well short of analyst expectations of a $0.40 per share loss, sending NYCB's stock down over 6% in early trading.
The company's provisions for credit losses surged to $242 million in Q3, nearly quadrupling from $62 million a year earlier. NYCB cited rising delinquencies in the office sector resulting from the pandemic's impact on commercial real estate as a key driver behind the elevated provisioning.