New York Community Bancorp Inc. and Blue Ridge Bankshares Inc. held the dubious distinction of being the lowest-valued US banks as of the end of March.

New York Community had the cheapest valuation among the 210 banks with more than $3 billion in total assets and trading on a major exchange, S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows. The Hicksville, NY-based lender had 29.9% of adjusted tangible book value (TBV) at the end of March, the data shows, and fell from second spot at the end of January. It was ineligible for the February analysis because its amended financial data wasn't available. That restatement featured a $2.43 billion goodwill impairment charge, wiping out all of the bank's goodwill balance.

In March, New York Community had a negative 32.8% total return, the worst performance in the analysis.

S&P Global Market Intelligence analyzed US banks trading on the Nasdaq, NYSE or NYSE American with total assets of greater than $3 billion as of the most recent quarter. The analysis excludes banks in the mutual holding company ownership structure and other operating subsidiaries.

HTM and credit-adjusted TBV is calculated as the sum of tangible common equity; unrealized gain or loss from held-to-maturity securities, tax-adjusted at the 21% corporate rate; and loss reserves; less nonperforming assets and loans 90 or more days past due but still accruing interest; divided by common shares outstanding.

New York Community had an eventful March, bringing in new leadership and completing capital raises totaling more than $1 billion. That transformation, following dismal fourth-quarter earnings, along with gloomy projections about the bank's future earnings, has seen its stock fluctuate. On an intraday basis, the share price has ranged from $1.70 to $10.62 during 2024.

Charlottesville, Va.-based Blue Ridge was, in contrast, a top market performer in March, returning 9.8%. Even so, it was the second-lowest valued bank in the analysis as of March 28, with a price-to-adjusted TBV of 33.7%. It had been the cheapest bank as of Feb. 29 and wasn't part of the January analysis because of unavailable fourth-quarter 2023 data.

On March 6, shareholders of Blue Ridge approved a $150 million recapitalization plan. In December 2023, the bank rejected a potential acquisition proposal from Mount Olive, NC-based Southern BancShares Inc.

Other banks with low valuations

Citigroup Inc., ranked 14th by lowest valuation, recorded the second-highest monthly return in the analysis, at 14.0%. Citigroup experienced a sharp rise in delinquent multifamily loans during 2023. Like its peers, the bank downsized its held-to-maturity securities portfolio last year.

NB Bancorp Inc. had the 15th-lowest valuation at the end of March. The Needham, Mass.-based bank completed a mutual-to-stock conversion in December 2023, raising $410.0 million in gross proceeds.

The 17th-ranked bank, Warsaw, NY-based Financial Institutions Inc., announced on April 1 that it sold the assets of its insurance broker subsidiary for $27.0 million. "This transaction allows us to capture strong value premium in this business at an important time, strengthen our capital position and support our continued focus on driving earnings in our core banking business," President and CEO, Martin Birmingham, said in a press release.

Most expensive banks

First Financial Bankshares Inc. was the most expensive bank in the analysis at the end of March, with a price-to-adjusted TBV of 378.3%. It comes after the Abilene, Texas-based lender also earned the seventh spot in the 2023 US public bank performance ranking.

Oklahoma City-based BancFirst Corp., and Kansas City, Mo.-based Commerce Bancshares Inc., the 15th and 12th most expensive banks in the Market Intelligence ranking, respectively, also featured among the top 10 in the public bank ranking.

Other banks in the Market Intelligence analysis were part of the 2023 large community bank ranking. The fifth most expensive bank, Sioux Falls, SD-based Pathward Financial Inc., and the sixth most expensive bank, Charleston, W.Va.-based City Holding Co., took the ninth and second spots, respectively, in the large community bank ranking.

– Access S&P Global Market Intelligence's calculations for price-to-adjusted tangible book value as of March 28, 2024. – Read some of the day's top news and insights from S&P Global Market Intelligence. – Set email alerts for future Data Dispatch articles.