Replies to post #6769 on Don't Bite The Hand That Feeds You

[StormyMonday]

mlkr, very much so however the shares were very kind to me in 2008 on several short term violent runs. I took a bridge jump by averaging down @ .15 just 2 weeks ago.I would have sold BKUNA today if IDEV did not get bought out!I am gonna hold BKUNA to at least a dollar or bust. Best case scenario is a buyout which IMHO is in the works as a British firm took a huge position several months ago. What a way to start off the new year!

[mlkrborn]

BURKINO FASO's... dilemma:
"clip from a late February WSJ Artcile:

Some investors urge caution about lenders that cater to borrowers with better credit but focus on mortgages that may suffer if weakness in housing continues, such as option adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs. These loans give borrowers multiple payment options, including a minimum payment that might not cover all of the monthly interest cost. The remainder of the interest payment is tacked onto the outstanding balance, causing it to rise.

About 59% of BankUnited's approximately $11.5 billion loan portfolio is made up of these loans and the bank is making more of them as it expands.

Countrywide has been cutting back on pay-option mortgages, funding just $2.7 billion in January out of a total $37 billion in new mortgages. Still, it has "significant exposure" to these risky loans, CFRA's Mr. Gast says. Countrywide declined to comment.

BankUnited acknowledges that borrowers are paying less of their monthly interest payments as interest rates have moved higher, and about 50% of the bank's loans have been made to residents of Florida, a weak real-estate market. And since BankUnited keeps about 70% of these loans in its own portfolio, if the borrowers run into problems it could hurt the company's earnings.

BankUnited shares, which fell 83 cents, or 3.2%, to $25.06 in 4 p.m. composite trading yesterday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, are trading at almost nine times its expected per-share earnings over the next year.

Under accounting rules, BankUnited counts the unpaid interest payments as revenue, however. So if a borrower pays the contractual minimum of $500 a month, rather than the $1,000 interest-only amount, the bank can count the remaining $500 as revenue. That is because it is assumed it will be repaid down the road. This revenue is a rising slice of its earnings, according to an analysis by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Humberto Lopez, BankUnited's chief financial officer, says the bank focuses on borrowers with high credit scores who generally put down at least 20% of the purchase price on a home. "Our borrowers have the financial wherewithal, and they've earned the right to have options of payments," Mr. Lopez says. "We haven't seen any weakness in their ability to pay."