Gilman Hill Asset Management CEO Jenny Harrington says a top trade is New York Community Bancorp . The bank said Friday it got approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to merge with Flagstar under the Flagstar name with a waiting period of 15 days. The Federal Reserve Board must still approve the deal. “Just last week … they finally said that they got OCC approval for the merger with Flagstar,” she said on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” “They’re now extending that merger until December 31 waiting for FRB approval, but it sounds like it’s finally going smoothly.” Directing boards from the two banks also said Friday they mutually agreed to extend the merger agreement from Monday to Dec. 31 to allow extra time for the Federal Reserve Board to approve the transaction. Harrington pointed to the bank’s dividend, calling it “really safe.” New York Community Bancorp pays a 7.2% dividend yield, according to FactSet. The bank focuses on multi-family loans for rent-regulated housing in New York. Its eight local divisions include operations in New Jersey, Ohio, Arizona and Florida. The stock was trading up 2.5% Monday, but is down 22.5% so far in 2022. Michigan-based Flagstar added 2.8% Monday. Shares have lost about 17.7% this year. See all the final trades here:
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