Fitch affirms New York Community ratings after equity raise

Fitch Ratings affirmed the long- and short-term issuer default ratings of New York Community Bancorp and its bank subsidiary, Flagstar Bank, at “BB+’/’B.”. The rating outlook remains Negative. “Subject to finalization, the capital infusion announced on March 6, 2024 is a positive near-term development for creditors and could limit downside ratings momentum,” the ratings agency said in a statement. However, in Fitch’s view, longer-term rating stability or improvement would be predicated on NYCB‘s ability to improve structural profitability, given its commercial real estate focused business model, and successful remediation of risk control weaknesses.