Dime Community Bancshares launches a Fund Finance vertical to enhance services for private equity, led by Michael Watts.
Quiver AI Summary
Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. has announced the launch of a new fund finance vertical, aimed at providing tailored fund-level financing to the private equity sector. The initiative, led by Michael Watts, who joins Dime from East West Bank, is part of the company's growth strategy to expand its commercial capabilities. Dime has recently seen significant growth in business loans and believes that the fund finance vertical will further enhance future growth. This move follows the successful establishment of other specialized verticals in healthcare and not-for-profit sectors. The company is focused on increasing its expertise and coverage across different industries by recruiting skilled professionals. Dime continues to build momentum and diversify its business lines, positioning itself to meet the needs of private equity firms and their portfolio companies.
Potential Positives
- The launch of a new fund finance vertical positions Dime Community Bancshares to cater to the growing private equity market, indicating strategic growth potential.
- The appointment of Michael Watts, an experienced banker, to lead this vertical enhances the expertise and credibility of Dime's new offerings.
- Dime's recent growth in business loans by over $450 million reflects the company's robust performance and increases expectations for further growth from the new Fund Finance vertical.
- This expansion follows successful efforts in other verticals, showcasing Dime's commitment to diversifying its service offerings and responding to market demand.
Potential Negatives
- The launch of the new fund finance vertical may indicate a reliance on emerging sectors, which could introduce risks associated with market volatility in the private equity industry.
- The mention of forward-looking statements highlights inherent uncertainties and potential risks that could negatively affect the company's anticipated growth and financial performance.
- Expansion initiatives such as this may stretch resources and focus, potentially impacting the effectiveness of existing operations and services.
FAQ
What is the new fund finance vertical launched by Dime Community Bancshares?
Dime Community Bancshares has launched a fund finance vertical to provide customized financing for the private equity industry, led by Michael Watts.
Who is leading the Fund Finance vertical at Dime?
Michael Watts, formerly a Senior Vice President at East West Bank, is leading the Fund Finance vertical at Dime.
How does Dime's expansion into Fund Finance support growth?
The expansion into Fund Finance is expected to enhance Dime's business and contribute to future growth in customized financing solutions.
What is Dime's recent growth in business loans?
Dime grew its business loans by over $450 million for the twelve months ended March 31, 2025.
What expertise does Dime look to expand with this new vertical?
Dime aims to enhance its industry-specific coverage expertise by recruiting talent from various financial institutions for the Fund Finance space.
Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.
$DCOM Insider Trading Activity
$DCOM insiders have traded $DCOM stock on the open market 10 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 5 have been purchases and 5 have been sales.
Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $DCOM stock by insiders over the last 6 months:
- CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.L.C. BASSWOOD has made 4 purchases buying 30,545 shares for an estimated $976,231 and 1 sale selling 9,815 shares for an estimated $306,228.
- KENNETH J MAHON sold 25,000 shares for an estimated $817,285
- RAYMOND A NIELSEN sold 3,000 shares for an estimated $93,750
- MICHAEL FEGAN (Chief Technology & Ops Officer) sold 2,000 shares for an estimated $71,513
- AVINASH REDDY (SEVP - CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER) has made 1 purchase buying 500 shares for an estimated $9,677 and 1 sale selling 500 shares for an estimated $9,687.
To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.
$DCOM Hedge Fund Activity
We have seen 104 institutional investors add shares of $DCOM stock to their portfolio, and 69 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.
Here are some of the largest recent moves:
- WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP added 1,271,303 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $39,073,497
- UBS GROUP AG added 608,942 shares (+1349.3%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $18,715,832
- VERITION FUND MANAGEMENT LLC added 463,273 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $14,238,695
- PENN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC added 327,559 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $10,067,525
- MALTESE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC added 302,473 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $9,296,507
- VANGUARD GROUP INC added 256,466 shares (+10.3%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $7,882,482
- STATE STREET CORP added 234,553 shares (+14.8%) to their portfolio in Q4 2024, for an estimated $7,208,986
To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.
$DCOM Analyst Ratings
Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $DCOM in the last several months. We have seen 1 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.
Here are some recent analyst ratings:
- Stephens issued a "Overweight" rating on 04/23/2025
To track analyst ratings and price targets for $DCOM, check out Quiver Quantitative's $DCOM forecast page.
Full Release
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., May 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of the continued execution of its growth plan, Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: DCOM) (the “Company” or “Dime”), the parent company of Dime Community Bank (the “Bank”), announced the launch of a new fund finance vertical. Led by Michael Watts, the Fund Finance vertical will provide customized fund-level financing to the private equity industry and expand Dime's coverage across this ecosystem. Watts, who will be based in Manhattan, was most recently a Senior Vice President at East West Bank.
Stuart H. Lubow, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dime, said, "We are committed to growing our coverage, and position Dime for success, as we respond to the growth in the Fund Finance space. The addition of this vertical is yet another example of targeted strategic investments to expand our commercial expertise and capabilities. For the twelve month period ended March 31, 2025, Dime grew Business loans by over $450 million and we expect Fund Finance to contribute to future growth once we get the vertical up and running.”
The expansion into Fund Finance, which follows the previous successful buildouts of a Healthcare vertical and a Not-for-Profit vertical, is part of Dime's recent geographic and vertical expansion. Dime is focused on expanding capabilities and industry-specific coverage expertise by recruiting talented individuals from a variety of financial institutions.
"Dime has strong momentum and is firmly establishing diversification in its business lines. Within the Fund Finance space, there is an opportunity for Dime to help private equity firms and their portfolio companies with bespoke solutions. I’m looking forward to Michael being part of Dime's growth and leading the Bank's efforts in this new vertical," said Tom Geisel, Dime’s Senior Executive Vice President of Commercial Lending.
ABOUT DIME COMMUNITY BANCSHARES, INC.
Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. is the holding company for Dime Community Bank, a New York State-chartered trust company with over $14 billion in assets and the number one deposit market share among community banks on Greater Long Island (1) .
Dime Community Bancshares, Inc.
Investor Relations Contact:
Avinash Reddy
Senior Executive Vice President – Chief Financial Officer
Phone: 718-782-6200; Ext. 5909
Email:
[email protected]
1 Aggregate deposit market share for Kings, Queens, Nassau & Suffolk counties for community banks with less than $20 billion in assets.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated.
