BankUnited Financial projects 27%-35% decline in 4Q profits

10/03/07 - newratings.com

NEW YORK, October 3 (newratings.com) - BankUnited Financial Corp (BKUNA) Wednesday projected a 27%-35% decline in its fourth-quarter profits.

The Florida-based bank holding company said the fallout from the sub-prime mortgage crisis had adversely impacted its results during the quarter. BankUnited Financial added that aggressive pricing by its large major competitors had exerted pressure on the amount of loans it was able to give out, which had resulted in the expected earnings decline. The company projected its operating earnings for the fourth quarter at 41¢-46¢ per share, down from 63¢ per share reported in the year-ago quarter.