Dime Community Bancshares, a New York-based company that aims to become a full-service commercial bank, announced the launch of a healthcare banking vertical on Tuesday. The new unit will focus on lending to the long-term care sector, which includes skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and home health agencies.
Healthcare Lending Expert to Lead the New Unit
Dime Community has hired Daniel Csillag, a veteran lender in the long-term care space, to lead the healthcare banking vertical. Csillag has over 20 years of experience in healthcare finance, most recently as a senior vice president and team leader at Signature Bank. He has also worked at Capital One Healthcare, GE Capital Healthcare Financial Services, and CIT Healthcare.
“Daniel’s hire is the next logical step in the buildout of our middle market commercial lending business,” Stuart Lubow, Dime Community’s president and CEO, said in a press release. “Adding a healthcare vertical is consistent with our strategic goal of increasing the contribution of business loans to our balance sheet.”
Lubow added that Csillag’s expertise and relationships in the long-term care industry will help Dime Community grow its loan portfolio and diversify its revenue streams.
Dime Community Continues Its Transformation from a Thrift to a Commercial Bank
The launch of the healthcare banking vertical is part of Dime Community’s ongoing transformation from a thrift institution that primarily focused on residential mortgages to a commercial bank that offers a range of products and services to businesses and consumers.
The company completed its merger with Bridge Bancorp in February 2023, creating a combined entity with $13.8 billion in assets and 66 branches across Long Island and the New York metropolitan area. The merger also expanded Dime Community’s commercial lending capabilities and deposit franchise.
Since then, Dime Community has capitalized on recent bank failures to add seven deposit-focused banking groups this spring and summer. The company also rebranded its retail banking division as Dime Direct and launched a digital banking platform that allows customers to open accounts online.
Dime Community reported net income of $35.4 million for the second quarter of 2023, up from $9.6 million in the same period last year. The company’s total loans increased by 9% year-over-year to $9.4 billion, while its deposits grew by 11% to $11.1 billion.
Long-Term Care Sector Faces Challenges and Opportunities amid Pandemic
The long-term care sector, which provides services to elderly and disabled people who need assistance with daily living activities, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, more than 184,000 residents and staff of long-term care facilities have died from COVID-19 as of August 2023, accounting for about 32% of all coronavirus deaths in the U.S.
The pandemic has also caused occupancy rates to decline, revenues to drop, and costs to rise for long-term care providers. Many facilities have faced staffing shortages, infection control issues, and regulatory pressures.
However, the sector also has some opportunities for growth and recovery. The aging population, rising demand for home-based care, and increased federal funding are some of the factors that could boost the long-term care industry in the post-pandemic era.
According to a report by Fitch Ratings, the long-term care sector is expected to see a gradual improvement in occupancy rates and cash flows in 2023 and beyond, as vaccination rates increase, infection rates decrease, and consumer confidence returns.
