UPDATE: Brunswick Bancorp, Brunswick, NJ (BRBW)

Four hundred and fifty five days after my April 2017 Review of Brunswick Bancorp, head scoundrel Roman Gumina met his Maker.

In death there is hope! If Roman's successor Uncle Frank Junior can right side the bank's expenses, it's entirely plausible we could see a resurrection of BRBW share price to $14. Were Uncle Frankie to sell the bank, Brunswick stock could conceivably garner the same.

Question is, how much of Roman Gumina's greed is embodied in the bank's operational design and family management DNA? In his wake, is BRBW a bargain buy or a pile of dead money?


Disclosure: As of this posting, I own shares of BRBW and may subsequently either dispose of them or purchase more.


Prospective Buyers

Still true today: The $95M of deposits in Brunswick's Livingston Ave branch headquarters might be appealing to area institutions, but I doubt any buyer would be interested in the 4 out of 7 other branches struggling to manage less than $9M each.

Amboy Bancorp, Old Bridge, NJ (private)
Magyar Bancorp, New Brunswick, NJ (MGYR)
Provident Financial Services, Iselin, NJ (PFS)

Financial Snapshot
as of 06/30/2018

Total assets:
$187M
Tangible book value per share:     
$12.50
NPAs to assets:
4.6%
Price to book:
70%
Market cap:
$26.5M
Dividend yield:
0%
Trailing 12-month ROA:
0.3%
Trailing 12-month ROE:
1.7%

Scoundrels

Frank Gumina, Jr, Interim Chairman
Nicholas A. Frungillo, Jr, President and CEO
Frank J. Gumina III, Esq, Vice President, Bank Counsel

Red Flag

My concerns about Brunswick Bank & Trust are essentially unchanged since my April 2017 review.
  1. The bank's expenses are way out of line with industry norms or anything justifiable (see table below).
  2. Roman Gumina owned at least 10 unrelated entities, and money is still flowing from the bank to some of them.
  3. More than half the bank's branches are too small to be profitable, and should be closed.
  4. NPA's are 4x current industry average.
Here's what I'd love to see Management do (and, what fiscal responsibility requires):
  • Cut Occupancy and Other Expenses in half! That alone should add $450K to pre-tax earnings and produce triple last quarter’s earnings.
  • Cut the asking price of REO low enough to sell it, then put the proceeds into earning assets. That could add another $160K to the pre-tax income.
  • Don't spend the late Gumina’s $310,000/year salary on anyone or anything new. That's cash straight to the bottom line.
  • Do these three things, and watch earnings rise six-fold!
How Brunswick Bank's expenses compare to peers'.

Brunswick Bank & Trust Expenses are more than double what they should be!


not including rent charged for Bank use of Gumina properties
a Timyan Bank Alert favorite in NJ
in the two quarters prior to close of merger with SB One Bancorp (SBBX)

Sources

  • Confidential interviews with shareholders and analysts