Three Understated Metrics For BCB Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:BCBP) You Should Know
As a small-cap bank stock with a market capitalisation of US$238.63M, BCB Bancorp Inc’s (NASDAQ:BCBP) risk and profitability are largely determined by the underlying economic growth of the US regions in which it operates. Since a bank profits from reinvesting its clients’ deposits in the form of loans, negative economic growth may lower deposit levels and demand for loan, adversely impacting its cash flow. After the GFC, a set of reforms called Basel III was imposed in order to strengthen regulation, supervision and risk management in the banking sector. These reforms target banking regulations and intends to enhance financial institutions’ ability to absorb shocks resulting from economic stress which could expose banks like BCB Bancorp to vulnerabilities. Since its financial standing can unexpectedly decline in the case of an adverse macro event such as political instability, it is important to understand how prudent the bank is at managing its risk levels. Low levels of leverage coupled with sufficient liquidity may place BCB Bancorp in a safe position in the face of adverse headwinds. We can measure this risk exposure by analysing three metrics for leverage and liquidity which I will take you through today. See our latest analysis for BCB Bancorp
Is BCBP’s Leverage Level Appropriate?
Banks with low leverage are better positioned to weather adverse headwinds as they have less debt to pay off. A bank’s leverage may be thought of as the level of assets it owns compared to its own shareholders’ equity. Though banks are required to have a certain level of buffer to meet its capital requirements, BCB Bancorp’s leverage level of less than the suitable maximum level of 20x, at 12x, is considered to be very cautious and prudent. This means the bank exhibits very strong leverage management and is well-positioned to repay its debtors in the case of any adverse events since it has an appropriately high level of equity relative to the debt it has taken on to remain in business. If the bank needs to firm up its capital cushion, it has ample headroom to increase its debt level without deteriorating its financial position.
What Is BCBP’s Level of Liquidity?
As abovementioned, loans are quite illiquid so it is important to understand how much of these loans make up BCB Bancorp’s total assets. Normally, they should not exceed 70% of total assets, but its current level of 84.74% means the bank has obviously lent out 15% above the sensible upper limit. This indicates that revenue is dependent on this particular asset but also the bank is more likely to be exposed to default compared to its competitors with less loans.
Does BCBP Have Liquidity Mismatch?
Banks operate by lending out its customers’ deposits as loans and charge a higher interest rate. These loans may be fixed term and often cannot be readily realized, conversely, on the liability side, customer deposits must be paid in very short notice and on-demand. The discrepancy between loan assets and deposit liabilities threatens the bank’s financial position. If an adverse event occurs, it may not be well-placed to repay its depositors immediately. Compared to the appropriate industry loan to deposit level of 90%, BCB Bancorp’s ratio of over 104.33% is higher, which positions the bank in a risky spot given the adverse liquidity disparity between loan and deposit levels. Basically, for $1 of deposits with the bank, it lends out over $1 which is imprudent.
Next Steps:
Keep in mind that a stock investment requires research on more than just its operational side. There are three essential aspects you should look at:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for BCBP’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for BCBP’s outlook.
Valuation: What is BCBP worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether BCBP is currently mispriced by the market.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.
The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.
