BAYONNE, N.J., Dec. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BCB Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”), (NASDAQ: BCBP), the holding company for BCB Community Bank (the “Bank”), today announced it has adopted a new stock repurchase program, effective December 16, 2020. Under the stock repurchase program, management is authorized to repurchase up to 500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. The shares authorized for repurchase under the program equate to approximately 2.9% of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock. As of December 10, 2020, the Company had approximately 17.1 million shares of common stock outstanding. The stock repurchase program does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and it may be limited or terminated at any time without prior notice.

“Repurchasing shares of our stock is an excellent use of capital, and can contribute to improved shareholder value,” stated Thomas Coughlin, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe this program will contribute to a strong return on equity and long-term growth in earnings per share.”

Under the stock repurchase program, the Company may repurchase shares of common stock from time to time in open market transactions or in privately negotiated transactions as permitted under applicable rules and regulations. Open market repurchases will be conducted in accordance with the limitations set forth in Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and applicable legal requirements. Repurchases may be conducted from time to time and may be suspended or terminated at any time without notice. The timing, volume and nature of such purchases will be determined at the sole discretion of the Company’s management at prices the Company considers attractive and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, subject to the availability of stock, general market conditions, trading price, alternate uses for capital, the Company’s financial performance, and applicable securities laws, and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. No assurance can be given that any particular amount of common stock will be repurchased. Repurchases may also be made pursuant to a trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act, which would permit shares to be repurchased when the Company might otherwise be precluded from doing so because of self-imposed trading blackout periods or other regulatory restrictions. This repurchase program may be modified, extended or terminated by the Board of Directors at any time.

About BCB Bancorp, Inc.

Established in 2000 and headquartered in Bayonne, N.J., BCB Community Bank is the wholly-owned subsidiary of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCBP). The Bank has 31 branch offices in Bayonne, Carteret, Colonia, Edison, Hoboken, Fairfield, Holmdel, Jersey City, Lodi, Lyndhurst, Maplewood, Monroe Township, Newark, Parsippany, Plainsboro, River Edge, Rutherford, South Orange, Union, and Woodbridge, New Jersey, and three branches in Hicksville and Staten Island, New York. The Bank provides businesses and individuals a wide range of loans, deposit products, and retail and commercial banking services. For more information, please go to www.bcb.bank.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release, like many written and oral communications presented by BCB Bancorp, Inc., and our authorized officers, may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding our prospective performance and strategies within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are including this statement for purposes of said safe harbor provisions. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations of the Company, are generally identified by use of words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “seek,” “strive,” “try,” or future or conditional verbs such as “could,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions. Our ability to predict results or the actual effects of our plans or strategies, including returning capital to shareholders and execution of our repurchase program, is inherently uncertain. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

In addition to factors previously disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and those identified elsewhere in this release, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: changes in asset quality and credit risk; the inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth; changes in interest rates and capital markets; inflation; customer acceptance of the Bank’s products and services; customer borrowing, repayment, investment and deposit practices; customer disintermediation; the introduction, withdrawal, success and timing of business initiatives; competitive conditions; the inability to realize cost savings or revenues or to implement integration plans and other consequences associated with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; economic conditions; and the impact, extent and timing of technological changes, capital management activities, and actions of governmental agencies and legislative and regulatory actions and reforms.

As the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related adverse local and national economic consequences, the Company could be subject to any of the following additional risks, any of which could have a material, adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, and results of operations:

demand for our products and services may decline, making it difficult to grow assets and income;
if the economy is unable to substantially reopen, and high levels of unemployment continue for an extended period of time, loan delinquencies, problem assets, and foreclosures may increase, resulting in increased charges and reduced income;
collateral for loans, especially real estate, may decline in value, which could cause loan losses to increase;
our allowance for loan losses may have to be increased if borrowers experience financial difficulties beyond forbearance periods, which will adversely affect our net income;
the net worth and liquidity of loan guarantors may decline, impairing their ability to honor commitments to us;
as the result of the decline in the Federal Reserve Board’s target federal funds rate to near 0%, the yield on our assets may decline to a greater extent than the decline in our cost of interest-bearing liabilities, reducing our net interest margin and spread and reducing net income;
a material decrease in net income over several quarters could result in a decrease in the rate of our quarterly cash dividend;
our cyber security risks are increased as the result of an increase in the number of employees working remotely;
we rely on third party vendors for certain services and the unavailability of a critical service due to the COVID-19 outbreak could have an adverse effect on us;
FDIC premiums may increase if the agency experiences additional resolution costs; and
civil unrest could occur in the communities that the Company serves.

Annualized, pro forma, projected and estimated numbers are used for illustrative purpose only, are not forecasts and may not reflect actual results.

Contact:		Thomas Coughlin,
		President & CEO
		Thomas Keating, CFO
		(201) 823-0700

BCB Bancorp, Inc. Adopts New Stock Repurchase Plan