Flushing Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:FFIC) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call April 24, 2024 9:30 AM ET

Company Participants

John Buran - President and CEO
Susan Cullen - SEVP, CFO and Treasurer

Conference Call Participants

Mark Fitzgibbon - Piper Sandler & Co.
Steve Moss - Raymond James
Manuel Navas - DA Davidson
Chris O'Connell - KBW

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the Flushing Financial Corporation's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Hosting the call today are John Buran, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Ms. Susan Cullen, Senior Executive Vice President, and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.

Today's call is being recorded. [Operator Instructions]. A copy of the earnings press release and slide presentation that the company will be referencing today is available on its Investor Relations website at flushingbank.com.

Before we begin, the company would like to remind you that discussions during this call may contain forward-looking statements made under the Safe Harbor Provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any such statements, including as set forth in the company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to which we refer you.

During this call, references may be made to non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental measures to review and assess operating performance. These non-GAAP financial measures are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For information about these non-GAAP measures and for any reconciliation to GAAP, please refer to the earnings release and/or to this presentation.

I would now like to introduce John Buran, President and Chief Executive Officer, who will provide an overview of the strategies and results. Please go ahead, sir.

John Buran

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thank you for joining us for our first quarter 2024 earnings call. The operating environment in the first quarter was dominated by three events, rising yields on the long end of the curve due to changing expectations of the Fed lowering rates, weak loan demand due to the lack of applications that meet our underwriting and return criteria, and the negative activity around one of our largest competitors. With regard to that competitor, we see its situation as largely unique to that institution, with opportunities that may be available to us as a result of the stated contraction in their business.