Columbia Financial’s net interest margin rises 67 basis points to 2.96% in third quarter
Key Facts
Columbia Financial raised its net interest margin to 2.96% in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, up 67 basis points from 2.29% a year earlier and 52 basis points from 2.44% in the second quarter. The company reported results on Oct. 29 and said the year-over-year margin increase was primarily due to a lower average cost of interest-bearing liabilities. The contrast highlights an expansion in underlying operating returns alongside the cost of items that weighed on reported results.
The company said the decline in reported net income was tied to a $23.8 million decrease in noninterest income and a $52.4 million increase in noninterest expense compared with the same quarter a year earlier. A $57.0 million increase in net interest income partly offset the impact. This breakdown puts net interest margin growth in the broader context of core business performance, as it was not enough on its own to offset lower other revenue and higher expenses. As a result, the underlying earnings-per-share figure differed markedly from reported earnings per share. The results underscore that the year-over-year performance comparison depends on whether the measure is reported or underlying earnings.
Total assets rose to $17.6 billion as of Sept. 30, up $5.4 billion from $12.2 billion as of June 30. The company attributed most of the increase to its acquisition of Northfield Bancorp and completion of the offering associated with its conversion to a fully public company structure. The balance sheet expanded in the same quarter that net interest margin rose to 2.96%. But the company did not attribute the wider margin to the acquisition or conversion; instead, it linked the year-over-year increase primarily to a lower average cost of interest-bearing liabilities. Asset growth and a change in the funding mix provide context for the bank’s development after the two transactions, while reported and underlying figures remain two different views of the quarter.
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Thomas J. Kemly said the company completed its conversion and acquisition of Northfield, and carried out a series of transactions to improve earnings and reduce interest-rate and credit risk on the balance sheet. The steps included sales of securities, delinquent and nonperforming assets, and assets classified as criticized or distressed. A sale that closed on Oct. 27 reduced the company’s remaining exposure to rent-regulated multifamily loans in New York City to $164.6 million. That exposure represented less than 1.0% of total assets. The measures formed part of a repositioning the bank announced alongside completion of the conversion and acquisition.
The company had already begun paying quarterly dividends in the second quarter, according to its July 30 announcement, so the third-quarter dividend was not the start of the program. In trading on Oct. 30, the company’s stock, listed under the ticker CLBK, closed at $11.04, according to EL7 daily data. The recorded share-price move came after the results announcement, while the dates for the next dividend remain set for shareholders of record on the announced date.