Flagstar Reports Fourth Quarter 2014 Net Income of $11.1 million, or $0.07 per Diluted Share

TROY, Mich., Jan. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) ("the Company"), the holding company for Flagstar Bank, FSB (the "Bank"), today reported fourth quarter 2014 net income of $11.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, as compared to a net loss of $27.6 million in the third quarter 2014, or $(0.61) per diluted share, and net income of $161.9 million in the fourth quarter 2013, or $2.77 per diluted share. The full year 2014 net loss was $69.5 million, or $(1.72) per diluted share, as compared to a full year 2013 net income of $267.0 million, or $4.37 per diluted share.

Alessandro P. DiNello, president and chief executive officer, said, "I am pleased that this quarter's earnings are the result of core operations. We have been working tirelessly for the last two years to de-risk the balance sheet, settle major legal matters, right size operating expenses, upgrade our management talent, build a strong risk management organization and focus our business strategies. These efforts have begun to bear fruit and we will continue to build on this foundation going forward."

Fourth Quarter 2014 Highlights:

Net Interest Income

Fourth quarter 2014 net interest income fell to $61.3 million, as compared to $64.4 million for the third quarter 2014. The decrease in net interest income was attributable to lower interest income from the Company's Ginnie Mae early buy-outs, due to a reduction in the average interest rate earned in accordance with the terms of loans with government guarantees, as well as jumbo residential first mortgage loan sales. The full year 2014 net interest income was $246.3 million, as compared to $186.7 million for the full year 2013, which primarily resulted from the prepayment of long-term Federal Home Loan Bank advances at the end of 2013.

Net interest margin decreased to 2.80 percent for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to 2.91 percent for the third quarter 2014. The decrease from the prior quarter was driven primarily by a lower yield from the loans that were included in the early buy-outs, as described above, and a 21 basis point reduction in the yield on loans held-for-sale.

Provision for Loan Losses

Provision for loan losses totaled $5.0 million for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to $8.1 million for the third quarter 2014. The decrease from the prior quarter was primarily attributable to lower net charge-offs. Net charge offs in the fourth quarter 2014 were $9.0 million, or 0.91 percent of applicable loans, compared to $13.1 million, or 1.36 percent of applicable loans in the prior quarter. The fourth quarter 2014 amount included $3.0 million of net charge-offs associated with the sale of $24 million of lower performing loans during the quarter. The net charge-offs associated with these loan sales accounted for 31 basis points of the fourth quarter's net charge-off rate.

Noninterest Income

Fourth quarter 2014 noninterest income was $98.4 million, as compared to noninterest income of $85.2 million for the third quarter 2014. The third quarter of 2014 included a $10.4 million charge related to certain Federal Housing Administration indemnifications. Net of this adjustment, noninterest income rose $2.8 million, or 3 percent from the prior quarter.

Fourth quarter 2014 deposit fees and charges increased to $6.0 million, as compared to $5.6 million for the third quarter 2014. The increase from the prior quarter reflects continued growth in demand deposit balances and seasonality.

Loan fees and charges decreased to $16.8 million for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to $18.7 million in the third quarter 2014. The decrease of $1.9 million, or 10 percent, was primarily related to an 8 percent decrease in mortgage originations in the fourth quarter 2014.

Fourth quarter 2014 net gain on loan sales increased to $53.5 million, as compared to $52.2 million for the third quarter 2014. The increase from the prior quarter reflects higher refinance volume driven by lower rates in October and early December, offsetting the seasonal decline in purchase origination volume. Fallout-adjusted locks were $6.2 billion for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to $6.3 billion for the third quarter 2014. The net gain on loan sale margin increased to 0.87 percent for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to 0.83 percent for the third quarter 2014.

Loan administration income remained relatively flat at $5.5 million for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to the third quarter 2014.

Net return on the mortgage servicing asset (including off-balance sheet hedges of mortgage servicing rights) increased to $1.6 million for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to $1.3 million for the third quarter 2014. The gross return on the mortgage servicing rights asset was 7.4 percent in the 2014 fourth quarter, a slight decrease from the third quarter 2014 as a result of higher prepayments of serviced loans. Additionally, the Company had $3.5 million of lower revenue as a result of the transaction costs and losses associated with $70 million of mortgage servicing rights sold during the quarter.

Net gain on sales of assets fell $3.2 million in the fourth quarter 2014, compared to the prior quarter. The Company sold $24 million of lower performing mortgage loans during the fourth quarter 2014, resulting in a net gain of $1.7 million. In the third quarter 2014, the Company sold $48 million of performing jumbo residential first mortgage loans and $33 million of lower performing loans, producing a net gain of $4.9 million.

Representation and warranty provision improved to income of $6.1 million for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to an expense of $12.5 million reported for the third quarter 2014. The change from the prior quarter was primarily due to a $10.4 million charge in the prior quarter related to certain indemnifications made by the Company. Additionally, during the fourth quarter 2014, the Company received recoveries of prior expenses and recorded a downward adjustment in the anticipated level of loss rates on claims from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as the overall level of the representation and warranty reserve declined to $53.0 million at December 31, 2014 from $57.0 million at September 30, 2014.

The fourth quarter 2014 other noninterest income was $7.3 million, as compared to $9.5 million for the third quarter 2014. The decrease from the prior quarter primarily resulted from lower gains on the sale of investment securities and lower fair value adjustments on mortgage loans.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense was $139.3 million for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to $179.4 million for the third quarter 2014. The third quarter 2014 included a $37.5 million litigation settlement expense with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"), as well as $1.1 million in related legal expenses. After making these adjustments, noninterest expense in the third quarter 2014 was $140.8 million.

Compensation and benefits increased to $59.0 million for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to $53.5 million for the third quarter 2014. The increase from the prior quarter was primarily due to higher levels of incentive compensation and $2.6 million in severance.

Fourth quarter 2014 asset resolution expense decreased to $13.4 million, as compared to $13.7 million for the third quarter 2014. The decrease was primarily due to process improvements and lower levels of problem assets, partially offset by a $2.0 million provision for expenses related to prior loss recoveries.

Legal and professional expenses were $10.8 million for the fourth quarter 2014, as compared to $15.0 million for the third quarter 2014. The $4.2 million decrease in the fourth quarter was primarily attributable to a decrease in consulting expenses, as well as legal expenses related to the Company's CFPB settlement experienced in the prior quarter.

Other noninterest expenses for the fourth quarter 2014 totaled $10.8 million, as compared to $50.3 million for the third quarter 2014. The decrease of $39.2 million from the prior quarter, included the third quarter 2014 adjusting item of $37.5 million related to the CFPB settlement.

Income Taxes

The fourth quarter 2014 provision for income taxes totaled $4.4 million, as compared to a tax benefit of $10.3 million in the third quarter 2014. The effective tax rate in the fourth quarter 2014 was 28.6 percent, as compared to 27.2 percent in the third quarter 2014.

The full year 2014 income tax benefit was $34.0 million, as compared to a benefit of $416.3 million for the full year 2013, primarily due to the reversal of the deferred tax asset valuation allowance during the fourth quarter 2013. The Company reversed 100 percent of the valuation allowance on its federal deferred tax asset ("DTA") and a portion of its state DTA, which had been previously established as of September 30, 2009, which resulted in a $355.8 million DTA valuation allowance reversal, or $6.29 per diluted share.

Asset Quality

Fourth quarter 2014 net charge-offs were $9.0 million, representing 0.91 percent of associated loans, excluding loans carried under a fair value option. This represented a decrease of $4.1 million from the third quarter 2014 net charge-offs of $13.1 million, or 1.36 percent, of associated loans. Excluding loan sales in both quarters, net charge-offs in the fourth quarter were $6.0 million or 0.60 percent, compared to $6.8 million or 0.70 percent in the prior quarter.

Nonperforming loans increased to $120.5 million at December 31, 2014 from $106.9 million at September 30, 2014. The increase was driven by higher non-accrual TDRs, which increased to $28.7 million from $17.5 million in the third quarter 2014. The ratio of nonperforming loans to loans held-for-investment increased to 2.71 percent at December 31, 2014 from 2.56 percent at September 30, 2014. 

The allowance for loan losses was $297.0 million at December 31, 2014, covering 7.01 percent of total loans held-for-investment, excluding loans carried under a fair value option. The allowance for loan losses was $301.0 million at September 30, 2014, covering 7.60 percent of total loans held-for-investment. The decrease in the coverage ratio during the fourth quarter of 2014 was primarily due to an increase in higher quality commercial warehouse loans at quarter end.

Capital

The Company's regulatory capital ratios remain well above current regulatory quantitative guidelines for "well-capitalized" institutions. At December 31, 2014, the Company had a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 12.6 percent, as compared to 12.5 percent at September 30, 2014. At December 31, 2014, the Company had a common equity-to-assets ratio of 11.24 percent.

As of January 2015, the Company and the Bank are subject, on a phased-in basis, to the Basel III regulatory capital requirements that replace the current capital requirements. Assuming that the Basel III requirements were fully applicable at December 31, 2014, the Company's pro forma Basel III Tier 1 leverage ratio would have been 10.2 percent at December 31, 2014 (see Non-GAAP reconciliation). 

Earnings Conference Call

As previously announced, the Company's fourth quarter 2014 earnings call will be held on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 11 a.m. (Eastern).

To join the call, please dial (888) 206-4916 toll free or (913) 312-0722, and use passcode: 1627539. Please call at least 10 minutes before the conference is scheduled to begin. A replay will be available for five business days by calling (888) 203-1112 toll free or (719) 457-0820, using passcode: 1627539.

The conference call will also be available as a live audio cast on the Investor Relations section of flagstar.com. It will be archived on that site and will be available for replay and download. A slide presentation accompanying the conference call will also be posted on the site.

About Flagstar

Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: FBC) is a $9.8 billion savings and loan holding company headquartered in Troy, Mich. Flagstar Bank, FSB, the largest bank headquartered in Michigan, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services through 107 branches in the state. It also provides home loans through a wholesale network of brokers and correspondents in all 50 states, as well as through 26 retail centers in 15 states. Flagstar is the ninth largest national originator of mortgage loans and a top 20 mortgage servicer, handling payments and recordkeeping for over $75 billion of home loans for nearly 400,000 borrowers. For more information, please visit flagstar.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to results presented in accordance with GAAP, this press release includes non-GAAP financial measures such as an adjusted efficiency ratio, adjusted earnings, the ratio of total nonperforming assets to Tier 1 capital (to adjusted total assets) and estimated Basel III ratios. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide additional information that is useful to investors in helping to understand the underlying performance and trends of Flagstar.

Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations, which are not required to be uniformly applied and are not audited. Readers should be aware of these limitations and should be cautious with respect to the use of such measures. To mitigate these limitations, there are practices in place to ensure that these measures are calculated using the appropriate GAAP or regulatory components in their entirety and to ensure that the Company's performance is properly reflected to facilitate consistent period-to-period comparisons. Although the Company believes the non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this report enhance investors' understanding of our business and performance, these non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for those financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Where non-GAAP financial measures are used, the comparable GAAP financial measure, as well as the reconciliation to the comparable GAAP financial measure, can be found in this earnings release, conference call slides, or the Form 8-K related to this press release. Additional discussion of the use of non-GAAP measures can also be found in Flagstar Bancorp, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q  for the quarters ended March 31, 2014, June 30, 2014 and September 30, 2014. All of which can be found on the Company's website at flagstar.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This earnings release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of Flagstar Bancorp, Inc.'s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Flagstar Bancorp Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2014, June 30, 2014 and September 30, 2014, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on the Company's website (flagstar.com) and on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website (sec.gov). Other than as required under United States securities laws, Flagstar Bancorp does not undertake to update the forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that may arise after the date of the forward-looking statements.