Kroll Bond Rating Agency Revises Dime Community Bancshares, Inc.’s Ratings Outlook from “Stable” to “Positive”

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., June 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (the “Company” or “Dime”) (NASDAQ: DCOM), the parent company of Dime Community Bank (the “Bank”), announced that Kroll Bond Rating Agency (“KBRA”), in a report dated June 17, 2025, revised its ratings outlook from “Stable” to “Positive.” Kroll’s deposit and senior unsecured debt rating for Dime Community Bank is BBB+.

According to the KBRA report, the revision of the Outlook to “Positive” primarily reflects the strong execution of strategic initiatives in recent years, particularly capitalizing on disruption and dislocation across the Company’s footprint following area bank failures in 2023. A key success has been the onboarding of deposit-focused teams, which has significantly improved the liquidity and funding profile, with the Company now outperforming peers on most key metrics.

Over the past two years, Dime has added $2 billion in core deposits, with a healthy DDA mix which has contributed to lower deposit costs than most KBRA-rated peers. The inflow of liquidity has also enabled a meaningful reduction in wholesale funding and supported the loan diversification growth efforts.

KBRA noted that Dime's ratings are also supported by its long-standing outperformance in credit quality, demonstrated across multiple cycles. Since the onset of the global financial crisis, the Company’s NCO ratio has averaged 15 bps, highlighting its disciplined credit culture. Dime has reported a minimal level of problem loans, well-contained NCOs and improving risk ratings.

Stuart H. Lubow, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “KBRA has recognized the progress we have made in creating a high-quality balance sheet. As we continue to execute on our growth plan, we are pleased to see our ratings outlook revised to Positive.”

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: avinash.reddy@dime.com

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.