New York Community Bancorp’s latest leadership revamp did little to quell investors’ worries about the Long Island-based bank, as its stock price fell nearly 26% after a flurry of announcements that started late Thursday.
The company said early Friday that it has filled gaps in its executive ranks by hiring a new chief risk officer and a head auditor. The appointments are part of the bank’s efforts to fix “material weaknesses” in its internal controls, which New York Community disclosed publicly the day before.
The hirings of George Buchanan as chief risk officer and Colleen McCullum as chief audit executive end two vacancies that had been a source of concern for investors. But New York Community’s disclosures about internal control weaknesses and an announcement that it is delaying the release of its annual report sparked new worries.
On Friday, Fitch Ratings cut its rating of New York Community to BB+, moving it into “junk” or speculative territory.
Fitch analysts wrote in a note that the new hires are “constructive steps in building an executive team with depth of experience more in line” with a bank its size. But they stated that the material weaknesses prompted a “re-assessment of NYCB’s…
