BAYONNE, N.J., Aug. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BCB Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”), Bayonne, NJ (NASDAQ: BCBP), the holding company for BCB Community Bank (the “Bank”), today announced the completion of its private placement of $40.0 million in fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due 2034 (the “Notes”), to certain qualified institutional investors. The Notes initially bear a fixed rate of 9.250%, payable semi-annually, for the first five years and will reset quarterly thereafter to the then current three-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 582 basis points. The Notes were assigned an investment grade rating of BBB+ by Egan-Jones Ratings Company.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for the refinancing of its existing $33.5 million of subordinated notes and for general corporate purposes. The Notes are intended to qualify as Tier 2 capital for the Company for regulatory purposes and the portion that the Company contributes to the Bank will qualify as Tier 1 capital for the Bank.

“We are pleased to announce the successful completion of our subordinated debt offering as well as the positive response to this transaction.  This transaction is in line with our long-term capital management strategy of refinancing our existing subordinated debt in a deliberate and timely manner, and adding additional regulatory capital, all without any dilution to our shareholder base or detriment to our strategic plan.  The Company remains committed to increasing shareholder value, and we believe that this subordinated debt issuance is an important step in that direction,” stated Michael Shriner, President and Chief Executive Officer.

In connection with the issuance and sale of the Notes, the Company entered into a registration rights agreement with the purchasers of the Notes pursuant to which the Company has agreed to take certain actions to provide for the exchange of the Notes for subordinated notes that are registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with substantially the same terms as the Notes.

Piper Sandler & Co. served as the sole placement agent for the offering. Stevens & Lee, P.C. served as legal counsel to the Company and Silver, Freedman, Taff & Tiernan LLP served as legal counsel to the placement agent.

The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes, nor shall there be any sale in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The indebtedness evidenced by the Notes is not a deposit and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency or fund.

About BCB Bancorp, Inc.

Established in 2000 and headquartered in Bayonne, N.J., BCB Community Bank is the wholly-owned subsidiary of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCBP). The Bank has twenty-three branch offices in Bayonne, Edison, Hoboken, Fairfield, Holmdel, Jersey City, Lyndhurst, Maplewood, Monroe Township, Newark, Parsippany, Plainsboro, River Edge, Rutherford, South Orange, Union, and Woodbridge, New Jersey, and four branch offices in Hicksville and Staten Island, New York. The Bank provides businesses and individuals a wide range of loans, deposit products, and retail and commercial banking services. For more information, please go to www.bcb.bank.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release, like many written and oral communications presented by BCB Bancorp, Inc., and our authorized officers, may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding our prospective performance and strategies within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are including this statement for purposes of said safe harbor provisions. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations of the Company, are generally identified by use of words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “seek,” “strive,” “try,” or future or conditional verbs such as “could,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions. Our ability to predict results or the actual effects of our plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

The most significant factor that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated by our forward-looking statements include the ongoing impact of higher inflation levels, higher interest rates and general economic and recessionary concerns, all of which could impact economic growth and could cause a reduction in financial transactions and business activities, including decreased deposits and reduced loan originations, our ability to manage liquidity and capital in a rapidly changing and unpredictable market, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and additional interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve. Other factors that could cause future results to vary materially from current management expectations as reflected in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the global impact of the military conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East; unfavorable economic conditions in the United States generally and particularly in our primary market area; the Company’s ability to effectively attract and deploy deposits; changes in the Company’s corporate strategies, the composition of its assets, or the way in which it funds those assets; shifts in investor sentiment or behavior in the securities, capital, or other financial markets, including changes in market liquidity or volatility; the effects of declines in real estate values that may adversely impact the collateral underlying our loans; increase in unemployment levels and slowdowns in economic growth; our level of non-performing assets and the costs associated with resolving any problem loans including litigation and other costs; the impact of changes in interest rates and the credit quality and strength of underlying collateral and the effect of such changes on the market value of our loan and investment securities portfolios; the credit risk associated with our loan portfolio; changes in the quality and composition of the Bank’s loan and investment portfolios; changes in our ability to access cost-effective funding; deposit flows; legislative and regulatory changes, including increases in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, insurance rates; monetary and fiscal policies of the federal and state governments; changes in tax policies, rates and regulations of federal, state and local tax authorities; demands for our loan products; demand for financial services; competition; changes in the securities or secondary mortgage markets; changes in management’s business strategies; changes in consumer spending; our ability to retain key employees; the effects of any reputational, credit, interest rate, market, operational, legal, liquidity, or regulatory risk; expanding regulatory requirements which could adversely affect operating results; civil unrest in the communities that we serve; and other factors discussed elsewhere in this report, and in other reports we filed with the SEC, including under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our other periodic reports that we file with the SEC.

Bay Street News