DIME COMMUNITY BANCSHARES, INC. REPORTS EARNINGS

2013 EPS of $1.23; Quarterly EPS of $0.29; Credit Quality Remains Solid 

Brooklyn, NY – January 27, 2014 - Dime Community Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: DCOM) (the "Company" or "Dime"), the parent company of The Dime Savings Bank of Williamsburgh (the "Bank"), today reported financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2013.  Consolidated net income was $43.5 million, or $1.23 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2013, compared to $40.3 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2012.  Consolidated net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 was $10.3 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, compared to $10.6 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, and $6.7 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.  Excluding non-recurring items, net income would have been $12.8 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, during the three months ended December 31, 2012, compared to $0.29 for the quarter ended December 31, 2013.

Vincent F. Palagiano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dime, commented, "The combination of low operating expenses and low credit costs enabled Dime to once again earn double digit returns, even in the face of tighter spreads.  Return on average tangible (leverage) equity exceeded 11.9%, and return on average assets was 1.09% for the year."

Management's Discussion of 2013 versus 2012 Results

Net interest income was up $18.6 million, or 16.9% for the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to the year ended December 31, 2012, reflecting a decline of $39.1 million in interest expense that exceeded a $20.5 million decline in interest income.  Interest expense was abnormally high in 2012, driven by $28.8 million for the cost of an early extinguishment of high-costing wholesale borrowings.  This was a partial balance sheet restructuring transaction of a non-recurring nature.

Reported Net Interest Margin ("NIM") showed a year-over-year gain, rising to 3.39% for 2013, from  2.92% for 2012.  However, after adjusting for certain items (prepayment fee income and prepayment penalty on early extinguishment of debt), the "core" NIM declined year-over-year, from 3.28% for 2012 to 3.03% for 2013.

Further comparing 2013 to 2012, non-interest income, excluding gains or losses on trading securities and the disposal of assets, declined by $1.9 million (due primarily to a large reduction in the liability for losses on loans sold to Fannie Mae recognized during 2012); credit loss provisions declined by $3.5 million; and operating expenses remained flat.  Loan prepayment fee income (included in interest

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income) was $13.4 million in 2013, versus $14.6 million in 2012.  There was another significant transaction of a non-recurring nature in December 2012: a $13.7 million pre-tax gain on the sale of property.

The net outcome of all of the above was a $3.2 million increase in Net Income, or a $0.06 increase in earnings per diluted share, on a year-over-year basis.  Average common diluted shares outstanding were 35.3 million in 2013 versus 34.4 million in 2012, an increase of 2.7%.

Total consolidated assets grew by 3.1% in 2013, fueled by growth in total real estate loans of 5.5%.  Loan originations topped $1.0 billion for 2013, but the loan portfolio grew by only $193.7 million, evidence of the prepayment in the portfolio due to sustained low 5 and 10-year Treasury rates.  Tangible (leverage) common equity grew by $38.8 million in 2013, or 11.2%, to $384.2 million, primarily through earnings, but supplemented with stock option exercises.  As a result, the Tier 1 core leverage ratio (tangible common equity) grew to 9.7% at December 31, 2013 from 9.0% a year earlier.

Management's Discussion of Quarterly Operating Results

·	Net Interest Margin

Net Interest Margin was 3.24% during the quarter ended December 31, 2013 compared to 3.35% during the September 2013 quarter. The "core" NIM, which excludes the effect of loan prepayment fee income, decreased from 2.98% during the September 2013 quarter to 2.90% during the December 2013 quarter, caused primarily by a reduction of 12 basis points in the average yield on real estate loans (also excluding the effects of loan prepayment fee income).

A 1 basis point decline in the average cost of deposits helped to reduce the average cost of all interest bearing liabilities, as bank deposit rates (mainly short term) remained low in the Bank's market area.

Declining loan yields resulted from the cumulative effect of portfolio prepayment and amortization activities during 2013 (in particular, the first six months of the year), as U.S. Treasury yields hovered at historically low levels.  During the latter half of 2013, there was a slight uptick in 5 to 10-year Treasuries, which has not quite yet been reflected in the pricing on multifamily and commercial real estate loans.  According to Mr. Palagiano, "Competition remained heavy among New York bank competitors for our typical loan product.  As long as there are portfolios to be filled, pricing will continue to be favorable to borrowers."  For Dime, pricing for prime, low loan-to-value multifamily property loans remains in the 3.5% to 4.0% range.

·	Net Interest Income

Net interest income was $30.8 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2013, down $886,000 from $31.7 million reported in the September 2013 quarter, and up $22.2 million from $8.6 million reported in the December 2012 quarter. Prepayment fee income on loans totaled $3.2 million during the December 2013 quarter, compared to $3.4 million recognized in the September 2013 quarter and $3.7 million during the December 2012 quarter. During the three months ended December 31, 2012, the Company recognized a $25.6 million pre-tax charge on the borrowing prepayment. Absent the impact of loan prepayment fee income and borrowing prepayment costs, net interest income was $27.6 million during the December 31, 2013 quarter, down $670,000 from the September 30, 2013 quarter and $2.8 million from the December 31, 2012 quarter. The decline in net interest income (excluding loan

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prepayment fee income) from the September 2013 quarter resulted primarily from a decline of 11 basis points in the average yield earned on the Company's interest earning assets, reflecting the ongoing loan refinancing activity.

·	Provision/Allowance For Loan Losses

The Company recognized a recapture of $56,000 to the allowance for loan losses and net charge-offs of $331,000 during the December 2013 quarter, resulting in a combined reduction of $387,000 in the allowance for loan losses from September 30, 2013 to December 31, 2013.  The $56,000 recapture to the allowance for loan losses recognized during the December 2013 quarter reflected the continued stability of the credit quality of the Bank's loan portfolio.

As a result, the allowance for loan losses as a percentage of total loans stood at 0.54%, down slightly from 0.56% at the close of the prior quarter.

·	Non-Interest Income

Non-interest income was $1.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, a reduction of $171,000 from the previous quarter, due primarily to lower fees collected on portfolio loans.

·	Non-Interest Expense

Non-interest expense was $15.5 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2013, in line with both the previous quarter and the forecasted level of $15.5 million.

Non-interest expense was 1.55% of average assets during the most recent quarter. The efficiency ratio approximated 47.5% during the same period.

·	Income Tax Expense

The effective tax rate approximated 40.1% during the most recent quarter, generally in line with the 40.0% forecasted level.

Management's Discussion of the 4^th Quarter 2013 Balance Sheet

Total assets were $4.03 billion at December 31, 2013, up $12.8 million from September 30, 2013.

The total real estate loan portfolio grew by approximately $30.4 million, funded in part from cash on hand.  $213.5 million of real estate loans closed during the quarter, compared to $289.6 million in the 3^rd quarter of 2013.  For comparative and trending purposes, loan originations in the 1^st and 2^nd quarters of 2013 were $325.0 million and $242.8 million, respectively.

Deposits declined by $102.0 million during the most recent quarter, comprised mainly of repricing promotional single service households for which the Bank declined to compete.  Federal Home Loan Bank of New York ("FHLBNY") advances increased by $137.5 million during the same quarter.

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·	Real Estate Loans

Real estate loan originations were $213.5 million during the December 2013 quarter, at a weighted average interest rate of 3.80%. Of this amount, $61.3 million represented loan refinances from the existing portfolio.

Also during the quarter, loan amortization and satisfactions, including the $61.3 million of refinances of existing loans, totaled $193.5 million, or 21.0% (annualized) of the quarterly average portfolio balance, at an average rate of 5.35%.  Total loan commitments stood at $139.8 million at December 31, 2013, with a weighted average rate of 3.77%.  The average yield on the loan portfolio (excluding prepayment fee income) during the quarter ended December 31, 2013 was 4.16%, compared to 4.28% during the September 2013 quarter and 4.85% during the December 2012 quarter.

·	Credit Summary

Non-performing loans were $12.5 million, or 0.34% of total loans, at December 31, 2013, up from $8.8 million, or 0.24% of total loans, at September 30, 2013.  This increase resulted primarily from the addition of one $4.4 million loan to non-accrual status.  Accruing loans delinquent between 30 and 89 days decreased to $1.6 million, or approximately 0.04% of total loans, at December 31, 2013, compared to $3.8 million, or 0.10% of total loans, at September 30, 2013.

At December 31, 2013, non-performing assets represented 3.7% of the sum of tangible capital plus the allowance for loan losses (this statistic is otherwise known as the "Texas Ratio") (see table on page 11).  This number compares very favorably to both industry and regional averages.

The remaining pool of loans serviced for Fannie Mae totaled $208.4 million as of December 31, 2013, down from $216.1 million at September 30, 2013. Within the pool of serviced loans previously sold to Fannie Mae with recourse exposure, total loans delinquent 30 days or more approximated $400,000 at both December 31, 2013 and September 30, 2013. Due to both ongoing amortization and the near absence of problem loans within the Fannie Mae portfolio, the Company determined that its liability for the first loss position could be reduced by $60,000, which was recognized during the quarter ended December 31, 2013.

·	Deposits and Borrowed Funds

Retail deposits decreased $102.0 million from September 30, 2013 to December 31, 2013, reflecting net outflows of $79.1 million in money market deposits and $24.2 million in certificates of deposit ("CDs") during the period. The Bank did not implement any significant promotional deposit activities during the December 2013 quarter, and enacted slight reductions in rates that resulted in a reduction of 1 basis point in the average cost of deposits during the December 2013 quarter.  The Bank also closed its Sunnyside branch during the December 2013 quarter, relocating the deposits to its nearby Long Island City branch location.  At December 31, 2013, bank-wide average deposit balances approximated $100.3 million per branch.

The Bank transacted $226.0 million of new fixed-rate FHLBNY borrowings during the quarter ended December 31, 2013, of which $88.5 million were utilized to replace borrowings that matured during the period.  Of the $226.0 million of new borrowings, $126.0 million had a weighted average maturity of 3.7 years and a weighted average cost of 1.15%, providing an offset to the fixed rate loan portfolio, and an

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element of NIM protection should funding rates rise during the term.  The remaining balance of new advances, approximately $100 million, were short-term in nature, and had a weighted average maturity of 1 month and a weighted average cost of 0.39%.  Management expects to replace the short-term borrowings with both permanent longer-term advances and deposits in the upcoming quarter.  The Bank intends to continue the use of longer-term FHLBNY advances to supplement deposit funding when deemed appropriate.

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Capital

The Company's consolidated Tier 1 core leverage ratio (tangible common equity) grew during the most recent quarter as a result of both increased retained earnings and stock option exercise activity.  Consolidated tangible capital was 9.67% of tangible assets at December 31, 2013, an increase of 16 basis points from September 30, 2013.

The Bank's tangible (leverage) capital ratio was 9.52% at December 31, 2013, down from 10.24% at September 30, 2013, due to both asset growth and aggregate dividends of $37.3 million paid to the Company during the December 2013 quarter. The Bank's Total Risk-Based Capital Ratio was 13.36% at December 31, 2013, compared to 14.07% at September 30, 2013.

Reported diluted EPS exceeded the quarterly cash dividend rate per share by 107% during the December 2013 quarter, equating to a 48% payout ratio. Additions to capital from earnings and stock option exercises during the most recent quarterly period caused tangible book value per share to increase $0.17 sequentially during the most recent quarter, to $10.47 at December 31, 2013.

OUTLOOK FOR THE YEAR 2014 AND THE QUARTER ENDING MARCH 31, 2014

At December 31, 2013, Dime had outstanding loan commitments totaling $139.8 million, all of which are likely to close during the quarter ending March 31, 2014, at an average interest rate approximating 3.77%.

For the year ending December 31, 2014, balance sheet growth is targeted to approximate 8.0 - 10.0%, subject to change to reflect market conditions.  Loan prepayments and amortization are currently projected to run in the 15% - 20% range throughout the year.

On the liability side, deposit funding costs are expected to remain near current historically low levels through the first quarter of 2014.  The Bank has $115.8 million of CDs maturing at an average cost of 0.86% during the quarter ending March 31, 2014.  Offering rates on 12-month term CDs currently approximate 50 basis points.  The Company has $100 million in short-term borrowings due to mature during the quarter ending March 31, 2014.  In the coming quarter, management expects to utilize a combination of FHLBNY advances and retail deposits to fund growth.  Advances are anticipated to be of longer duration (3 to 5 year fixed terms) to provide a closer duration match to new loans and a hedge against future higher interest rates.

The Bank anticipates launching promotional deposit campaigns throughout the first quarter of 2014, the success of which will determine the direction and degree of change in the cost of deposits, with a slight upward bias in the March 2014 quarter, and fully reflected in the June 2014 quarter.

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Loan loss provisioning will likely continue to be a function of loan portfolio growth, incurred and anticipated losses, and the overall credit quality of the loan portfolio.

Absent any unforeseen items, non-interest expense is expected to approximate $15.5 million during the March 2014 quarter.  The Company projects that the consolidated effective tax rate will approximate 41.0% in the March 2014 quarter.

ABOUT DIME COMMUNITY BANCSHARES, INC.

The Company (Nasdaq: DCOM) had $4.03 billion in consolidated assets as of December 31, 2013, and is the parent company of the Bank. The Bank was founded in 1864, is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and currently has twenty-five branches located throughout Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Nassau County, New York. More information on the Company and Dime can be found on the Dime's Internet website at www.dime.com.

This News Release contains a number of forward-looking statements 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 (the "Exchange Act"). These statements may be identified by use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions.

Forward-looking statements are based upon various assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of management's experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes are appropriate under the circumstances. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors (many of which are beyond the Company's control) that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, without limitation, the following: the timing and occurrence or non-occurrence of events may be subject to circumstances beyond the Company's control; there may be increases in competitive pressure among financial institutions or from non-financial institutions; changes in the interest rate environment may reduce interest margins; changes in deposit flows, loan demand or real estate values may adversely affect the business of Dime; changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines may cause the Company's financial condition to be perceived differently; changes in corporate and/or individual income tax laws may adversely affect the Company's financial condition or results of operations; general economic conditions, either nationally or locally in some or all areas in which the Company conducts business, or conditions in the securities markets or the banking industry may be less favorable than the Company currently anticipates; legislation or regulatory changes may adversely affect the Company's business; technological changes may be more difficult or expensive than the Company anticipates; success or consummation of new business initiatives may be more difficult or expensive than the Company anticipates; or litigation or other matters before regulatory agencies, whether currently existing or commencing in the future, may delay the occurrence or non-occurrence of events longer than the Company anticipates.

Contact: Kenneth Ceonzo

Director of Investor Relations

718-782-6200 extension 8279

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