“Consolidation In Banking Industry Key Theme For 2011 And Beyond According To The President And CEO Of Bridge Bancorp ...” |
| Posted: 21 Jan 2011 04:21 PM PST On Friday January 21, 2011, 7:21 pm EST 67 WALL STREET, New York - January 21, 2011 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Banks Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online. Topics covered: Regulatory Reform Uncertainty - Heightened M&A Activity - Regional Bank Outperformance - Demutualization and MHC Conversion Opportunities - Spotlight on Capital and Credit Companies include: Boston Private (BPFH); Fulton Financial (FULT); National Penn (NPBC); Northwest Savings (NWBI); People's Bank (PBCT); Sandy Spring (SASR); Sterling Bancorp (SI); Valley National (VLY); AmTrust (AFSI); Astoria (AF); BMO (BMO); Beneficial (BNCL); Bridge Bancorp (BDGE); Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. (BMTC); Center Bancorp (CNBC); Danvers (DNBK); Dime Community (DCOM); F.N.B. Corporation (FNB); First Commonwealth (FCF); First Community (FCBC); First Horizon (FHN); First Niagara (FNFG); Flushing (FFIC); Hudson City (HCBK); Huntington (HBAN); Investors Bancorp (ISBC); M&I (MI); M&T (MTB); Meridian Interstate Bancorp (EBSB); Metro Bank (METR); National City (NCC); New York Community (NYB); Newport Bancorp (NFSB); OceanFirst (OCFC); Oritani (ORIT); Orrstown Financial (ORRF); PNC Financial (PNC); Provident Financial (PFS); Provident of New York (PBNY); Signature Bank (SBNY); StellarOne (STEL); Susquehanna (SUSQ); The Bancorp (TBBK); Tower Bancorp (TOBC); Union Bankshares (UNB); United (UBSI); Virginia Commerce (VCBI); WSFS Financial (WSFS); Webster (WBS); Wilmington Trust (WL). In the following brief excerpt from just one of the many in-depth interviews in this extensive report, the President and CEO of Bridge Bancorp discusses the outlook for his company for investors. Kevin M. O'Connor is President and Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Bancorp, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary, The Bridgehampton National Bank. Since he assumed the role on Jan. 1, 2008, his company has experienced continued growth despite a challenging economic environment. With almost 25 years tenure in the financial services industry, Mr. O'Connor has been at the forefront of acquisition planning, de novo branching and the development of strategic initiatives. Along with his current team of banking professionals, he places a high priority on developing long-term relationships with local business people, understanding local market indices and providing a customer-focused, personal approach at all levels of business. Mr. O'Connor earned an associate's degree in accounting from Suffolk County Community College and a bachelor's degree in accounting from Adelphi University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the NYS Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. O'Connor was recently elected President of the Long Island Chapter of the New York State Bankers Association. He is a member of the development committee for McGann-Mercy High School in Riverhead and a Past President and Board Member of Suffolk County Council of the Boy Scouts of America. TWST: Where are you focusing your attention? Mr. O'Connor: I have to insure that our team is focused and understands our mission and formula for success. We have worked hard to achieve this success, and we must maintain discipline without losing sight of our goals and objectives. The challenges or risks can be credit related, operational, regulatory, or a lack of understanding the changes in the markets or competitive landscape. The strength of our team allows me to leave the day to day management to others. However, I have the ultimate responsibility to make sure the risks are managed and controlled.In this environment, I am also alert to opportunities - whether it is the availability of good people, good locations, weak competitors or other businesses - to enhance our franchise. As with every CEO, the focus should be strategic, establishing a vision and communicating this to the board and the rest of management. On a macro level, I certainly see an environment where banks will need to become larger to deal with increased regulations, revenue challenges, higher capital requirements and changing customer patterns. I believe, as do many, the story for 2011 and beyond will be increased M&A activity for banks between $250 million and $10 billion. This should create an opportunity for our well-run institution, and I intend to continue focusing on this macro issue. TWST: If I were a long-term investor sitting down with your financial report, on what key areas should I focus? Mr. O'Connor: The key element of your question is the perception of a "long-term investor". While I am proud of our current success as one of the top performers during this difficult economic cycle, I am most proud to be part of an organization whose performance has been exceptional over a long time frame. I want investors to look at our performance through the variety of interest rate and credit cycles. Bridge Bancorp (BDGE) has traditionally been a high-performing institution, with above-peer returns on assets and more importantly, equity. We derive these results with a conservative balance sheet, funded entirely by a stable core deposit base with almost 30% of the deposits being non-interest bearing checking or DDA accounts. Loans, while growing, only represent 50% of the assets, and our loan to deposit ratio is only 51%, providing opportunities to enhance yields and returns. Despite the conservative balance sheet, we have a strong net interest margin, or NIM, due to the high percentage of DDA, and resultant low cost of funds. The NIM compares favorably with the best in the industry, but we believe it is more stable and less risky due to the funding and asset mix. We have also been good managers of shareholder capital, and recently enhanced this through the issuance of $16 million in trust preferred securities. Our long-term investors have had a history of uninterrupted dividends, and at current prices our dividend yield is almost 4%. Investors should note that we moved onto Nasdaq three years ago and were added to the Russell 3000 in 2009. We have seen an increase in our average trading volume to a little over 10,000 shares a day, from less than 3,000 two years ago, providing some additional opportunities to acquire our stock. In short, the long-term investor should look at the historical performance of this organization and understand that its success comes from the top down, starting with an active and committed board and a focused and driven management team. TWST: How do you feel about your current stock valuation relative to some of your peers? The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online . The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations. For Information on subscribing to The Wall Street Transcript, please call 800/246-7673 Follow Yahoo! Finance on ; become a fan on Facebook. 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