Flushing Financial seeks to raise $70 million to shore up capital as it unloads underwater bonds

Flushing Financial seeks to raise  million to shore up capital as it unloads underwater bonds


Flushing Bank in New York City.

Google Earth

Flushing Financial, a New York-based commercial real estate lender, is seeking to raise $70 million to shore up its capital, CNBC has learned.

The bank’s CEO, John Buran, has told potential investors that he intends to sell low-yielding bonds and loans backed by commercial real estate, including multifamily buildings, moves that would generate a loss and necessitate the sale of fresh stock, people with knowledge of the deal told CNBC.

Bankers working on the deal have yet to finalize pricing, but it will likely be between $15 to $15.50 per share, according to a person familiar, below the $17.25 level the stock closed at on Thursday.

The bank declined to comment to CNBC earlier Thursday, but later issued a release confirming the equity sale.

Banks with commercial real estate exposure have struggled after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates through 2023, leaving them with unrealized losses on their balance sheet. New York Community Bank was forced to raise capital earlier this year after its stock sank amid concerns over its portfolio of commercial loans.

Most of the U.S. banks under pressure are community banks with under $10 billion in assets, like Flushing, which had about $9.3 billion in assets as of September.

Now, with a rebound in bank stock prices this year and the start of a Fed easing cycle in September, investors expect more banks to raise capital in the coming months. Behind the scenes, regulators have been prodding banks with confidential orders to improve capital levels.

“The rate environment is still a challenge, but we’re controlling what we can control and setting the foundation for a better future,” Buran told analysts in October.

Shares of Flushing Financial have risen about 5% this year through Thursday, trailing the 18% rise in the KBW Regional Banking Index.



Source

‘F1’ is Apple’s highest-grossing theatrical film ever
Business

‘F1’ is Apple’s highest-grossing theatrical film ever

Still from Apple’s “F1.” Apple Lights out and away we go. “F1: The Movie” hasn’t even reached the checkered flag of its theatrical run, but it’s already Apple’s best film release ever. The film, distributed by Warner Bros. Discovery, zoomed past $293 million at the global box office over the weekend. This outpaced Ridley Scott’s […]

Read More
Family offices ramp up deal-making in June with bets on biotech
Business

Family offices ramp up deal-making in June with bets on biotech

Key Points After a slow spring, investment firms of the ultra-rich made 60 direct investments in June, according to Fintrx. Family offices flocked to biotech and health-care firms such as Antheia, seeking to make an impact and returns at the same time. Antheia founder Christina Smolke told CNBC’s Inside Wealth family offices’ patient capital makes […]

Read More
How Netflix keeps luring big-name directors away from the traditional box office
Business

How Netflix keeps luring big-name directors away from the traditional box office

Film directors Rian Johnson (L), Greta Gerwig (C), and Guillermo Del Toro (R) Getty Images Netflix isn’t interested in bringing movies to theaters. The company’s leaders have said they see theatrical movie releases as an “outdated” model. Yet for more than a decade, the streamer has lured in some of Hollywood’s biggest directors to make content […]

Read More