Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. annual meeting. I will now turn the conference over to Ken Mahon. You may begin.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the meeting of shareholders of Dime. I am Kenneth J. Mahon, Chairman of the Board of Directors. It is my pleasure on behalf of the Board of Directors and the officers of Dime to extend to you a warm welcome and to express our appreciation to you for participating in this meeting. I would like to now acknowledge the members of our Board of Directors who are attending today's annual meeting. Paul Aguggia, Rosemarie Chen, Judith Germano, Matthew Lindenbaum, Albert McCoy Jr., Raymond Nielsen, Joseph Perry, Kevin Stein, and Dennis Suskind. I'll now ask our CEO and Director, Stuart Lubow, to introduce a few of our executive officers who are also here in attendance today.
Thank you, Ken. I also would like to welcome you to the meeting and to acknowledge some of our Executive Officers. Avinash Reddy, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. Thomas Geisel, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. Michael Fegan, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Technology and Operations Officer. Christopher Porzelt, Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer. Judy Wu, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Also participating today is Mark Parkhurst with Crowe LLP, the company's independent public accounting firm. Our Chairman, Ken, will now commence with the business of the meeting.
Thank you, Stu. The purpose of today's meeting is to vote on the matters reflected in the proxy statement and to provide a brief review of the activity of the company. The matters are as follows. First, to elect 11 directors of the company. Second, to ratify the appointment of Crowe LLP. Third, to approve named executive officer compensation on a non-binding advisory basis. Fourth, to approve an amendment to the company's certificate of incorporation to change the company name to Dime Commercial Bancshares Inc. The secretary of the meeting has a certified list of eligible shareholders of the company entitled to vote at this meeting, which will be available until the polls close. I will now ask Ms. Wu to make her report.
Thank you, Ken. I am in possession of proof by affidavit that notice of the meeting has been duly given and that a proxy statement and form of proxy have been mailed to every shareholder of record as of March 31st, 2026. There were 43,886,835 shares of the stock of the company outstanding on the record date. I also report that the board of directors has appointed Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. to act as inspector of elections at this meeting, including any adjournments hereof, and to count and examine all votes. Francis Bird, the inspector of election, has filed with me an oath of office and a certification that a quorum is present at this meeting.
Thank you, Judy. I now declare the 2026 annual meeting of shareholders of Dime Community Bancshares to be convened. In order to have a constructive annual meeting, we have made the agenda and rules of conduct available on the portal. Questions may be submitted at any time during the meeting, following the instructions on the portal. Shareholders who wish to ask questions or make comments are requested to observe the rules of conduct. We have a designated time for questions and discussions regarding the items of business being addressed. Later in the meeting, we will address general questions that have been submitted about the company. We will now proceed to the official business of this meeting. First, nomination of directors. First item of business is the election of directors. The board of directors is a non-classified board with all directors elected annually.
Directors serve for a term of one year and until their successors are elected and qualified. The board of directors, on the recommendation of the corporate governance and nominating committee, have nominated the following persons as Directors, each to serve for a term to expire at the annual meeting to be held in 2027. The names are as follows: Kenneth J. Mahon, Paul M. Aguggia, Rosemarie Chen, Judith H. Germano, Matthew A. Lindenbaum, Stuart H. Lubow, Albert E. McCoy Jr., Raymond A. Nielsen, Joseph J. Perry, Kevin Stein, and Dennis A. Suskind. The company has received no other nominations for Directors in accordance with the procedures in the company's bylaws allowing for the submission of additional nominations, therefore, I declare the nominations for Directors closed. The second item is the ratification of the appointment of Crowe LLP.
We will now proceed to the second item of business, which is to ratify the appointment of Crowe LLP to serve as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31st, 2026. Third item is the advisory non-binding vote on executive compensation. This third item of business is the approval of a non-binding advisory proposal on named executive officer compensation by adopting a resolution set forth in the proxy. Finally is the approval of the name change. This is the fourth item of business to approve the amendment to the company's certificate of incorporation to change the company name to Dime Commercial Bancshares Inc. The board of directors unanimously recommends that the company's shareholders vote for the approval of all of the above proposals. The meeting is now open for discussion of the foregoing proposals.
At this time, questions are limited to the proposals presented. We'll address any other questions concerning the company later in this meeting. Operator?
No questions.
All right. We've been notified there have been no questions posed. Since there are no other business on today's agenda, we will proceed with the balloting on the foregoing motions. If you have already voted by proxy and do not wish to change your vote, you need not vote in person at this meeting. If you wish to revoke your proxy and vote now, you may do so by following the instructions on the portal. Finally, if you wish to vote or change your vote, please do so now. We'll pause now to allow for any voting. Any action, Judy? Okay. All right. I now declare the polls closed.
The inspector is now making a count and will submit during the course of this meeting a preliminary report of the results of the votes as represented. While the inspector is counting the votes, our CEO, Stuart Lubow, will make a brief presentation regarding your company. Stu?
Thank you, Ken. Please note that my remarks may include forward-looking statements concerning the company. I encourage you to read the slide in our shareholder presentation filed this morning on SEC Form 8-K addressing such forward-looking statements. The annual meeting of our shareholders allows us to provide context around performance and strategy, and to share with you how we've continued to adapt our company as a proactive leader in the markets we serve. In reflecting on 2025, I would characterize it as an extremely successful, productive year for Dime. Our future is bright, and the investments we have made in various business lines and talent are paying off. Reviewing our balance sheet comparing March 2025 to 2026, the overall asset side of the bank now stands at $15 billion.
We achieved significant growth in core deposit funding, which enabled us to support our customers' lending needs and grow our net interest margin and profitability levels. Business loan growth, which is an area that we have focused on, was extremely strong in 2025. In addition, we utilized the strong influx of core deposits to increase our balance sheet liquidity and pay off wholesale borrowings. We remain focused on executing our strategic plan and capitalizing on significant market disruption in our footprint. Apart from the significant growth in core deposits, primarily from hiring numerous teams from the former Signature Bank, we have also been focused on diversifying our loan portfolio and expanding our lending capabilities. In 2025, we hired Tom Geisel, who has overseen the onboarding of numerous specialty commercial banking verticals, which will serve as an engine for our future growth.
Most recently, in May of 2026, Dime launched an equipment and franchise finance group. Over the past year, we have opened two new branches in Locust Valley and in Manhattan. In addition, Dime is expanding into New Jersey with a new branch opening in Lakewood later this month. The next slide highlights Dime's proven track record in organically growing low-cost deposits and shows the continuation of this momentum as we grew core deposits $2.8 billion since the fourth quarter of 2023, representing a 13% cumulative annual growth rate. We maintain a strong profile of 31% interest-free DDA, a testament to our success in acquiring and onboarding new customers in a uniquely competitive environment. Importantly, Dime remains the number one commercial bank on Greater Long Island by market share, an accolade we achieved and maintained since 2021. As previously mentioned, business loan growth remains an area of focus for Dime.
We grew business loans by over $900 million since the fourth quarter of 2023, representing a 19% cumulative annual growth rate. As Dime continues to expand our commercial banking capabilities, we expect to achieve additional organic growth through new customer acquisitions and market share gains. We have proactively increased our capital ratios, posturing us for strong and responsible growth in the years ahead. Having best-in-class capital ratios positions Dime favorably. Our substantial liquidity position, which includes approximately $2 billion of cash, provides us with the flexibility to take advantage of lending opportunities as they may arise. As part of a multi-year strategic transformation, Dime Community Bank will rebrand as Dime Commercial Bank to align with the bank's business model and strategic plan moving forward. Also of note, in April of 2026, Dime transitioned to the New York Stock Exchange, which is home to many of the world's leading banks.
This next slide reflects our commitment to corporate and social responsibility and the communities we serve. Our CRA rating is outstanding, and all individual components of the rating are also outstanding. Our CRA rating is underpinned by our longstanding culture of community involvement and reinvestment across a broad spectrum of volunteer opportunities for our employees and meaningful not-for-profit lending opportunities. In closing, I'd like to highlight Dime's core operating principles that we believe will lead to our continued success in the future. We are focused on maintaining a high-quality balance sheet that is core deposit-funded, diversified, and supported by strong capital and liquidity levels. We are building an organization which is being recognized as the employer of choice for talented bankers. This concept has been a key piece of strengthening our position on both sides of the balance sheet and has been integral to attracting new customers.
Most importantly, we remain cognizant of our customer community-first approach. In closing, we will build on the favorable recognition of the Dime brand has achieved as we continue our expansion into new and developing markets, while upholding our commitment and top-tier level of service to the markets we serve proudly for over 100 years. Thank you again. I turn the call back over to Ken Mahon.
Thank you, Stu. Well done this year. It's been a great year. We would now like to open the floor to general questions or comments from any shareholder. Operator? Questions? Okay, hearing none. Thank you for your interest in the company. The inspector has completed the tabulations. Judy, I assume that's happened.
Yes.
Okay. The secretary will now read the results of the inspector's report.
Thank you, Ken. All proposals have been voted on and approved. The Inspector of Election has furnished me with the preliminary results of the voting. Each of the nominees recommended by the Board of Directors has received the requisite number of votes and therefore has been duly elected as directors of the company. The proposal to ratify the appointment of Crowe LLP as independent registered public accounting firm for the company for the year ending December 31st, 2026, received a favorable vote of 99.34% of the shares voted. Therefore, this proposal has been approved. The proposal to approve the resolution on executive compensation received a favorable vote of 75.08% of the shares voted. Therefore, this proposal has been approved. Proposal to amend the company name to Dime Commercial Bancshares, Inc., received a favorable vote of 98.27% of the shares voted. Therefore, this proposal has been approved.
The final official results of the meeting will be filed on SEC Form 8-K within four business days of this meeting.
Thank you, Judy, and thank you, shareholders. There being no further business, I will now ask Mr. Lubow if he has any closing remarks.
Thank you, Ken. At this point, I'd just like to thank all our employees and our shareholders for the continued support, and we look forward to a terrific year in 2026.
Thank you, Stu, and thank you to all the officers and directors of the company and the staff as well. Thank you so much. I now declare the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Shareholders of Dime Community Bancshares adjourned. Thank you all for participating.
This concludes today's annual meeting. You may now disconnect.