SECOND QUARTER 2018¹ HIGHLIGHTS

• GAAP diluted EPS was $0.48, up 23.1% QoQ and 9.1% YoY
• Core diluted EPS was $0.49, up 32.4% QoQ and 6.5% YoY
• Net interest income of $42.6 million was relatively unchanged QoQ, but down 2.2% YoY
• Net interest margin was 2.76%, down 3bps QoQ and 19bps YoY
• GAAP and core ROAE were 10.5% and 10.6%, compared with 8.6% and 8.1%, respectively in 1Q18
• GAAP and core ROAA were both 0.9%, compared with 0.7% in 1Q18

UNIONDALE, N.Y., July 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flushing Financial Corporation (the “Company”) (Nasdaq:FFIC), the parent holding company for Flushing Bank (the “Bank”), today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018.

John R. Buran, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased to report earnings per diluted common share of $0.48 for the second quarter of 2018, an increase of 23.1% and 9.1% from 1Q18 and 2Q17, respectively. Furthermore, ROAE increased to 10.5% for 2Q18 from 8.6% and 9.6% in 1Q18 and 2Q17, respectively.”

“For the past year, we have articulated our strategic objective of emphasizing rate over volume regarding loan originations. To that end, we decided to allow over $70 million of participations with another financial institution to prepay as the rates being offered through the refinancing process did not meet our lending criteria. Consequently, during the quarter ended June 30, 2018, our loan growth was 0.4%. We believe emphasizing rate over volume is a long-term winning strategy and we are beginning to see tangible results as the average yield in the loan portfolio has risen 10bps over the prior quarter. This was driven by the yield on new loans in the second quarter exceeding the quarterly average loan portfolio yield by 26bps and the yield of total interest earning assets by 47bps. Newly booked loans in 2Q18 had a yield of 4.57% showing an increase of 30bps from the prior quarter.”  

“The move toward improved loan yields was further enhanced this quarter as $116 million of mortgage loans repriced from 4.41% to 5.37%. We look for this yield improving trend to continue as we have close to $2 billion in loans repricing through 2020.”  

“Despite this good news on yields, deposit pressures outstripped the gains on the loan side as margin pressure continued. The cost of funds increased 14bps QoQ and 36bps YoY. However, the combination of improved loan yields and mitigation strategies that we put in place on the liability side of the balance sheet have decelerated the pace of margin compression from 11bps in 1Q18 to 3bps this quarter.”

“While we remain liability sensitive we have been taking proactive steps to provide further support to our margin and mitigate the impact of future rate increases by extending the maturity on our liabilities and as previously announced entered into forward interest rate swaps totaling $442 million of which $250 million has been funded as of June 30, 2018.”

“We reduced brokered deposits by $164 million partially offsetting them with core growth in our retail operations totaling $89 million. One of the contributing factors to this was our “Win Flushing” program, which focuses on the Asian community, where we are on pace to add $160 million in deposits by the end of 1Q19.”

“As we look forward to continuing our focus on stabilizing, then improving margins, we have additionally focused on bringing in more variable rate C&I loans. Over the last five quarters C&I lending has represented 35% of new loan originations.”

Mr. Buran continued, “As we’ve continued to improve loan yields we have retained our focus on credit quality. Non-performing assets decreased by 18% and, total delinquencies have decreased 3% since December 31, 2017. The allowance for loan losses to gross loans was 0.38% while the allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans increased to 137% from 123% in the linked quarter. The loan-to-value on our non-performing real estate loans at June 30, 2018 remains conservative at 35.1%. The net charge-offs of $322,000 for the quarter reflect the change in the fair value of Chicago taxi medallions from $60,000 to $25,000 per medallion, based upon recent sales transactions. Currently, the Chicago taxi medallion portfolio totals $0.2 million. Our exposure to taxi medallion loans in Chicago and NYC totals $6.2 million, which is 0.12% of total loans.”

“We remain committed to converting our branches to the Universal Banker model. In the 11 branches that have been converted we have experienced an increase of 24% in transactions processed at an ATM, reducing our customers' reliance on tellers, allowing our branch staff to focus more time on sales opportunities.”

The Company retains its focus on preserving strong risk management practices, including conservative underwriting standards and improving yields to achieve improved risk-adjusted returns.

• In the second quarter, commercial business, multi-family and commercial real estate loan originations and purchases represented 35%, 28%, and 25%, respectively, of all originations, which were made while maintaining conservative loan-to-values, debt coverage ratios, and increasing yield.
• Multi-family (excluding underlying co-operative mortgages), commercial real estate, and one-to-four family mixed-use property mortgage loans originated during 2Q18 had a yield of 4.27%, an increase of 30bps from 3.97% for 1Q18 and an increase of 8bps from 4.19% for 2Q17. We have maintained our asset quality as these loans had an average loan-to-value ratio of 46.3% and an average debt coverage ratio of 186%.
• The average interest rate obtained for 2Q18 new loans totaled 4.57%, an increase of 30bps compared to 4.27% for 1Q18 and of 53bps compared to 4.04% for 2Q17.
• The average rate of mortgage loan applications in the pipeline totaled 4.67% at June 30, 2018, as compared to 4.41% at March 31, 2018 and 4.17% at June 30, 2017.

Mr. Buran concluded, “Overall, we remain well capitalized and positioned to deliver profitable growth and long-term value to our shareholders as we continue to execute on our strategic objectives.”

Summary of Strategic Objectives

• Increase core deposits and continue to improve funding mix
• Increase net interest income by leveraging loan pricing opportunities and portfolio mix
• Enhance core earnings power by improving scalability and efficiency
• Manage credit risk
• Maintain well capitalized levels under all stress test scenarios

Earnings Summary:

Net Interest Income
Net interest income for 2Q18 was $42.6 million, a decrease of $1.0 million, or 2.2% YoY (2Q18 compared to 2Q17) but relatively unchanged QoQ (2Q18 compared to 1Q18). During 2Q18 the increase in the cost of funds outpaced the increase in the yield of interest-earning assets.

• Net interest margin of 2.76%, decreased 19bps YoY and 3bps QoQ
• Net interest spread of 2.60%, decreased 23bps YoY and 5bps QoQ
• Net interest income includes prepayment penalty income from loans and securities totaling $1.6 million in 2Q18 compared with $1.0 million in 2Q17 and $0.9 million in 1Q18, accelerated accretion of discount upon call of CLO securities of none in 2Q18 and 1Q18 and $0.4 million in 2Q17 and recovered interest from delinquent loans of $0.2 million in 2Q18, compared to $0.3 million in 2Q17 and $0.2 million in 1Q18
• Excluding prepayment penalty income, accelerated accretion of discount and recovered interest from nonaccrual loans, the yield on interest-earning assets was 3.98% in 2Q18, an improvement from 3.82% in 2Q17 and 3.91% in 1Q18, and the net interest margin was 2.64% in 2Q18, which decreased from 2.83% in 2Q17 and from 2.72% in 1Q18
• Average balance of total interest-earning assets of $6,181.2 million, increased $262.2 million, or 4.4%, YoY and $82.5 million, or 1.4%, QoQ
• Yield on interest-earning assets of 4.10%, increased 16bps YoY and 11bps QoQ
• Cost of interest-bearing liabilities of 1.50%, increased 39bps YoY and 16bps QoQ
• Cost of funds of 1.41%, increased 36bps YoY and 14bps QoQ, driven by increases in rates paid on certificates of deposit, government deposits and short-term borrowings resulting from the recent increases in the Fed Funds rate 

Provision for loan losses
As a result of continued strong credit quality, there was no provision recorded for 2Q18 and 2Q17 compared to $0.2 million in 1Q18.

Non-interest Income
Non-interest income for 2Q18 was $3.2 million, an increase of $1.2 million, or 62.6% YoY, and unchanged QoQ.

• Non-interest income included net gains from the sale of loans of $0.4 million in 2Q18, primarily from the sale of $5.3 million in SBA loans, compared to net losses from the sale of loans of $0.3 million in 1Q18 and net gains of $34,000 in 2Q17
• Additionally, non-interest income included net losses from fair value adjustments of $0.3 million in 2Q18, $0.1 million in 1Q18 and $1.2 million in 2Q17 and gains from life insurance proceeds of $0.8 million in 1Q18 and $6,000 in 2Q17
• Absent all above items, non-interest income was $3.0 million, a decrease of $0.1 million YoY, but an increase of $0.2 million QoQ

Non-interest Expense
Non-interest expense for 2Q18 was $27.4 million, an increase of $1.3 million, or 5.1% YoY, but a decrease of $3.9 million, or 12.5% QoQ.

• Non-interest expense increased $1.3 million YoY primarily due to increases in consulting, legal and depreciation expense due to the growth of the Bank, but decreased $3.9 million QoQ due to 1Q18 including the impact of annual grants of employees and directors restricted stock unit awards
• The efficiency ratio was 59.6% in 2Q18 compared to 55.8% in 2Q17 and 69.3% in 1Q18

Provision for Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes in 2Q18 was $4.5 million, a decrease of $2.3 million, or 33.7% YoY, but an increase of $1.5 million, or 52.2% QoQ.

• Pre-tax income decreased by $1.1 million, or 5.6% YoY but increased $4.1 million, or 28.2% QoQ
• The effective tax rates were 24.4% in 2Q18, 34.7% in 2Q17 and 20.5% in 1Q18

Financial Condition Summary:

Loans:

• Net loans held for investment were $5,313.6 million reflecting an increase of 0.4% QoQ (not annualized) and 3.0% from December 31, 2017, as we continue to focus on the origination of multi-family, commercial real estate and commercial business loans with a full relationship while emphasizing rate over volume
• During the quarter, we saw an increase in loan satisfactions, which we decided not to refinance, as the interest rate demanded did not fit our strategy of emphasizing rate over volume.
• Loan originations and purchases of multi-family, commercial real estate and commercial business loans totaled $224.5 million for 2Q18, or 87.9% of loan production
• Loan pipeline was $322.9 million at June 30, 2018, compared to $325.6 million at March 31, 2018 and $279.1 million at June 30, 2017
• The loan-to-value ratio on our portfolio of real estate dependent loans as of June 30, 2018 totaled 38.9%

The following table shows the weighted average rate received from loan originations and purchases for the periods indicated:

Credit Quality:

• Non-performing loans totaled $14.8 million, a decrease of $3.3 million, or 18.4%, from $18.1 million at December 31, 2017
• Non-performing assets totaled $14.8 million, a decrease of $3.3 million, or 18.3%, from $18.1 million at December 31, 2017
• Classified assets totaled $44.2 million, an increase of $10.2 million, or 30.0%, from $34.0 million at December 31, 2017, primarily due to six business loan relationships being downgraded as they did not meet certain loan covenants; these loans remain current and accruing
• Loans classified as troubled debt restructured (TDR) totaled $10.6 million, a decrease of $2.6 million, or 19.6%, from $13.2 million at December 31, 2017, primarily due to the sale of one commercial TDR in 1Q18
• We anticipate continued low loss content in the portfolio, as our strong underwriting standards coupled with our practice of obtaining updated appraisals and recording charge-offs early in the delinquency process has resulted in a 35.1% average loan-to-value for non-performing loans collateralized by real estate at June 30, 2018
• Net charge-offs totaled $0.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018

Capital Management:

• The Company and Bank, at June 30, 2018, were both well capitalized under all applicable regulatory requirements
• During 2Q18, stockholders’ equity increased $2.7 million, or 0.5%, to $538.0 million due to net income of $13.9 million, partially offset by the declaration and payment of dividends on the Company’s common stock and repurchases of the Company’s common stock
• During 2Q18, the Company repurchased 227,581 treasury shares at an average cost of $26.04 per share; as of June 30, 2018, up to 808,836 shares may be repurchased under the authorized stock repurchase program, which has no expiration or maximum dollar limit
• Book value per common share increased to $19.00 at June 30, 2018, from $18.75 at March 31, 2018 and tangible book value per common share, a non-GAAP measure, increased to $18.44 at June 30, 2018, from $18.20 March 31, 2018

Conference Call Information:

• John R. Buran, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Susan K. Cullen, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at 9:30 AM (ET) to discuss the Company’s strategy and results for the second quarter of 2018
• Dial-in for Live Call: 1-877-509-5836
• Webcast: https://services.choruscall.com/links/ffic180725.html 
• Dial-in for Replay: 1-877-344-7529
• Replay Access Code: 10120867
• The conference call will be simultaneously webcast and archived through 5:00 PM (ET) on July 25, 2019

About Flushing Financial Corporation

Flushing Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:FFIC) is the holding company for Flushing Bank^®, a New York State—chartered commercial bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Bank serves consumers, businesses, professionals, corporate clients, and public entities by offering a full complement of deposit, loan, equipment finance, and cash management services through its banking offices located in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Long Island. As a leader in real estate lending, the Bank’s experienced lending team creates mortgage solutions for real estate owners and property managers both within and outside the New York City metropolitan area. Flushing Bank is an Equal Housing Lender. The Bank also operates an online banking division consisting of iGObanking.com^®, which offers competitively priced deposit products to consumers nationwide, and BankPurely^®, our eco-friendly, healthier lifestyle community brand.

Additional information on Flushing Bank and Flushing Financial Corporation may be obtained by visiting the Company’s website at http://www.flushingbank.com.

“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this Press Release relating to plans, strategies, economic performance and trends, projections of results of specific activities or investments and other statements that are not descriptions of historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking information is inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, risk factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and in other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “expects”, “plans”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “forecasts”, “goals”, “potential” or “continue” or similar terms or the negative of these terms. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company has no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

¹ See the table entitled “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

- Statistical Tables Follow -

1. Calculated by dividing stockholders’ equity by shares outstanding.
2. Calculated by dividing tangible stockholders’ common equity, a non-GAAP measure by shares outstanding. Tangible stockholders’ common equity is stockholders’ equity less intangible assets (goodwill, net of deferred taxes). See “Calculation of Tangible Stockholders’ Common Equity to Tangible Assets”. 
3. Ratios are presented on an annualized basis, where appropriate.
4. Efficiency ratio, a non-GAAP measure, was calculated by dividing non-interest expense (excluding OREO expense and the net gain/loss from the sale of OREO) by the total of net interest income and non-interest income (excluding net gains and losses from fair value adjustments and life insurance proceeds).

1. See “Calculation of Tangible Stockholders’ Common Equity to Tangible Assets”.
2. Excludes performing non-accrual TDR loans.

1. Loan interest income includes loan fee income (which includes net amortization of deferred fees and costs, late charges, and prepayment penalties) of approximately $0.3 million, $0.1 million and $0.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018, March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2017, respectively.
2. Interest income on tax-exempt securities does not include the tax benefit of the tax-exempt securities.

1. Loan interest income includes loan fee income (which includes net amortization of deferred fees and costs, late charges, and prepayment penalties) of approximately $0.4 million and $1.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.
2. Interest income on tax-exempt securities does not include the tax benefit of the tax-exempt securities.

Loan Composition

Net Loans Activity

⁽¹⁾  Not included in the above analysis are troubled debt restructured taxi medallion loans totaling $5.5 million in 2Q18, $5.7 million in 1Q18, $5.9 million in 4Q17, $4.1 million in 3Q17 and $3.4 million in 2Q17.

Net Charge-Offs (Recoveries)

Core Diluted EPS, Core ROAE, Core ROAA, tangible book value per common share and core earnings before provision and income taxes are each non-GAAP measures used in this release. A reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures appears in tabular form at the end of this release. The Company believes that these measures are useful for both investors and management to understand the effects of certain non-interest items and provide an alternative view of the Company's performance over time and in comparison to the Company's competitors. These measures should not be viewed as a substitute for net income. The Company believes that tangible book value per common share is useful for both investors and management as these are measures commonly used by financial institutions, regulators and investors to measure the capital adequacy of financial institutions. The Company believes these measures facilitate comparison of the quality and composition of the Company's capital over time and in comparison to its competitors. These measures should not be viewed as a substitute for total shareholders' equity.

These non-GAAP measures have inherent limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied and are not audited. They should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of results reported under GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.