New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: NYCB) (the “Company” or “NYCB”) and Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) (“Flagstar”) announced today the receipt of approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) to convert Flagstar Bank, FSB to a national bank to be known as Flagstar Bank, N.A., and to merge New York Community Bank into Flagstar Bank, N.A. with Flagstar Bank, N.A. being the surviving entity. NYCB’s acquisition of Flagstar remains subject to the approval of the Federal Reserve Board (the “FRB”), as well as to the satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions under the merger agreement between the two companies.
The OCC approval is subject to a statutory waiting period that provides that the bank merger cannot be consummated until the 15th day after the date of the OCC approval, which in this case is November 11, 2022. The FRB approval is not expected to have any associated waiting period. NYCB and Flagstar intend to consummate the holding company and bank mergers promptly after the end of the OCC waiting period and the receipt of approval from the FRB.
In addition to OCC approval, NYCB and Flagstar announced today that they have mutually agreed to extend their merger agreement from October 31, 2022 to December 31, 2022. The consideration and exchange ratio as provided in the merger agreement will remain the same. The extension, which has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, will provide additional time to obtain regulatory approval from the FRB, in order to allow the transaction to be consummated.
Once approved and closed, the combination of NYCB and Flagstar will create one of the largest regional banks in the country, operating 395 branches across a nine-state geography, including strong footholds in the Northeast and the Midwest with exposure to high growth markets in the Southeast and West Coast. Through its mortgage division, the Company will operate nationally through 81 retail lending offices in 26 states and a wholesale network of approximately 3,000 third-party originators.