Regional banks

The sale of the $318 million-asset portfolio comes five weeks after the Greenville, South Carolina-based company agreed to sell its investment advisory unit.

The Cleveland-based regional bank continues to benefit from strength in investment banking, though concerns about stalled loan growth emerged as CEO Chris Gorman described demand as tepid.

Investors have hammered the New Jersey-based lender following the turmoil at New York Community Bancorp. But Valley executives say there are key differences between the two real estate-focused banks, and they express confidence that the bank's underwriting will hold up again this cycle.

The Dallas bank's full-year results showed progress toward its long-term strategic goals despite a fourth-quarter drop-off in net interest income heavily tied to its mortgage business, executives said on an earnings call.

At first the deal seemed an unlikely marriage of two mortgage-heavy companies. But acquiring the Michigan company would help New York Community accomplish its two chief goals — reducing deposit costs and its concentration of multifamily loans — while giving it the scale to pursue more deals.

The merger would create a company with nearly 400 branches, 87 loan production offices and $87 billion of assets.

The switch to Thomas Cangemi from longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora could foreshadow a push to curtail the company’s reliance on multifamily lending and the pursuit of a bank acquisition that lowers funding costs.

Longtime chairman and CEO Joseph Ficalora will step aside Thursday as head of the regional bank and be succeeded by CFO Thomas Cangemi.

The statement comes after multiple small and midsize institutions earlier this year warned the agencies that the secured overnight financing rate was ill-suited to them.

Strong mortgage and capital markets activity helped offset credit costs and one-time items in the third quarter at Citizens Financial Group. In a period of low rates, CEO Bruce Van Saun says he’d like to buy more fee-generating businesses.