Dime Community Bancshares in Brooklyn, N.Y., found a way to lower its concentration of commercial real estate loans.
The $6.6 billion-asset company said in a press release Monday that it has completed a $280 million securitization of multifamily loans through a program sponsored by Freddie Mac. Dime, as part of the process, bought structured pass-through certificates that it will treat as available-for-sale securities.
Dime said it will maintain relationships with the borrowers as the loans’ subservicer.
“I am extremely proud of the way our associates across divisions of the bank, along with several of our third-party affiliates, mobilized and coordinated their effort to successfully complete this important transaction in a very short time frame,” Kenneth Mahon, Dime’s president and CEO, said in the release.
The move is expected to lower Dime’s CRE concentration ratio to 807% from 849% and its loan-to-deposit ratio to 130.4% from 136.8%. It should boost the bank’s Tier 1 common ratio to 10.93% from 10.65% and its total capital ratio to 13.73% from 13.38%.
The transaction “creates a template for future transactions, should it again be chosen to help advance the bank’s strategic goals,” Mahon said. “Freddie Mac’s due diligence on the portfolio in this transaction further confirms Dime’s strong underwriting practices and credit quality.”
PNC Capital Markets was the sole lead placement agent; Dechert provided legal counsel.
