Kearny Financial Corp. (1617242) SEC Filing 10-Q Quarterly report for the period ending Sunday, December 31, 2017

Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 30, 2018

For further information contact:

Craig L. Montanaro, President and Chief Executive Officer, or

Eric B. Heyer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Kearny Financial Corp.

(973) 244-4500

KEARNY FINANCIAL CORP.

REPORTS SECOND QUARTER 2018 OPERATING RESULTS

Fairfield, New Jersey, January 30, 2018 – Kearny Financial Corp. (NASDAQ GS: KRNY) (the “Company”), the holding company of Kearny Bank (the “Bank”), today reported net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2017 of $1.3 million, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share. The results represent a decrease in net income of $3.9 million compared to net income of $5.2 million, or $0.07 per basic and diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.

As discussed in greater detail below, the decrease in net income primarily reflected the impact of federal income tax reform that was codified through the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) on December 22, 2017. The decrease in net income also reflected the recognition of certain merger-related expenses related to the Company’s proposed acquisition of Clifton Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: CSBK) (“CSBK”), the holding company for Clifton Savings Bank (“Clifton”).

The Act permanently reduced the Company’s federal income tax rate from 35% to 21% while also including other provisions that altered the deductibility of certain recurring expenses recognized by the Company. While, collectively, the provisions of the Act are expected to benefit the Company’s future earnings, it resulted in a $3.5 million net reduction in the carrying value of the Company’s deferred income tax assets and liabilities with an equal and offsetting charge to income tax expense during the three months ended December 31, 2017. The $3.5 million charge to income tax expense resulted from a $4.9 million charge to reflect the reduced carrying value of the Company’s net deferred tax asset attributable to timing differences in the recognition of certain income and expense items for financial statement reporting purposes versus that recognized for income tax reporting purposes. That charge was partially offset by a $1.4 million reduction in the net deferred income tax liability primarily attributable to the net unrealized gains and losses on the Company’s interest rate derivatives and available for sale securities portfolios.

The net charge of $3.5 million attributable to the changes in the carrying value of deferred income tax items was partially offset by a $769,000 reduction in current-year income tax expense attributable to the noted reduction in the Company’s income tax rate. For the current “transition” year ending June 30, 2018, the Company’s statutory federal income tax rate has been reduced to 28%, reflecting effective statutory rates of 35% and 21% for the first and second halves of the year, respectively. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 and thereafter, the Company’s statutory federal income tax rate will be reduced to 21%.

As noted above, the decrease in net income between linked periods also reflects the Company’s recognition of $1.2 million of merger-related expenses related to its proposed acquisition of CSBK. The Company estimates that net income was adversely impacted by approximately $1.0 million for merger-related expenses recognized during the three months ended December 31, 2017 due to their limited income tax deductibility. The proposed CSBK acquisition was announced on November 1, 2017, whereby the Company entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which it will acquire CSBK in an all-stock transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, each outstanding share of CSBK common stock will be exchanged for 1.191 shares of KRNY common stock.

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