The Numbers Don't Lie

Here are a couple of nuggets from the FBR earnings (or, in this case "losses") statements for Q3. Does anybody out there know if this is enough to pull the Sun deal off the table? I am totally amazed that this company continues to operate, albeit with a skeleton staff. It's not like FNLC was a respected and well-known brand in the first place - why Sun would want it?

Friedman Billings posts wider Q3 loss

Friedman Billings Ramsey Group Inc's third-quarter losses tripled from a year ago, hurt by write-offs in its securitized loan portfolio and losses from sale of mortgage securities. The investment bank and brokerage posted a net after-tax loss of $214.7 million, or $1.28 a share, compared with a net after-tax loss of $67.4 million, or 39 cents a share, a year ago.

The Arlington, Virginia-based FBR also incurred a $17.2 million loss on restructuring and operating costs at its nonprime mortgage unit First NLC Financial Services. At the end of the quarter, Friedman's exposure to First NLC was $12 million.

FBR Group Announces Third Quarter 2007 Financial Results

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. today announced its results for the quarter ended September 30, 2007. The company reported a net after-tax loss for the quarter of $214.7 million, or $1.28 per share, compared to a net after-tax loss of $67.4 million, or $0.39 per share, for the third quarter of 2006.

Among the principal components of the third quarter results are:

• An economic loss of $17.2 million associated with restructuring and operating costs at First NLC Financial Services (FNLC), of which $15 million was incurred prior to the agreement announced in July to sell FNLC to an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners (Sun Capital).
• A $27 million valuation loss relating to the portfolio of conforming and non-conforming loans originated by FNLC and for which FBR Group took ownership under the Sun Capital sale agreement, reducing the value of those loans to $203 million.

First NLC In The News

I just wanted to catch y'all up on how FBR (the parent company of First NLC, for those of you fortunate enough not to know) threw First NLC under the bus a couple of weeks ago after announcing their 1st quarter earnings for 2007. I don't think any of this is making Daddy and Junior's stock portfolios rise, do you? I should note that all of these statements happened about five weeks after FBR gave First NLC a vote of confidence during a company-wide conference call.

Mortgage Defaults Hurt Lenders
"Meanwhile, investment bank Friedman, Billings had a loss of $185.9 million, or $1.08 a share, because of write-downs at its First NLC mortgage unit and costs for "restructuring." The company is trying to sell First NLC."

Friedman Billings Posts Loss on Mortgage Writedowns
"The First NLC mortgage unit lost $124.2 million after writing down the value of goodwill, stakes in other "nonprime'' mortgage companies and its own home-loan investments, the company said. Friedman Billings also recorded $5.2 million of "restructuring and other costs.''

Mortgage Woes Send FBR to Quarterly Loss
"The Arlington investment bank reported a loss of $185.9 million ($1.08 a share) for the first three months of the year, compared with a profit of $26.6 million (16 cents) in the corresponding period a year earlier. FBR said its mortgage company, First NLC Financial Services, lost $124.2 million in the quarter. First NLC specializes in subprime loans, those generally offered to people with blemished credit or insufficient cash for a down payment."

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Loses in Nonprime
"In the company's official 2007 first quarter report, it attributes most of the recent losses to its wholly-owned nonprime origination platform, First NLC Financial Services (FNLC). According to the company's first quarter report, FNLC experienced a net after-tax loss of $124.2 million."

Subprime mortgage fallout hits FBR
"FBR said in March it was evaluating alternatives, including the possible sale, of First NLC, which is FBR Group's non-prime mortgage origination business. The company now says it intends to act on those alternatives sometime this quarter."