BankAtlantic Lowers Future Earning Expectations

BankAtlantic Bancorp, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has announced that its third quarter and fourth quarter results will be significantly less than the $6.4 million and $8.2 million, respectively, reported for the comparable periods in 1997.The expected decrease is primarily attributable to writedowns in BankAtlantic's mortgage servicing rights portfolio due to accelerated prepayments as a result of the declining interest rate environment; losses tied to the record downturn in the securities market at the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Ryan, Beck and Co. and BankAtlantic's trading securities portfolio; and expenses associated with a number of new business initiatives undertaken by BankAtlantic. The institution, along with outside consulting firm Alex Sheshunoff & Co., has recently completed a review of its operations that identified opportunities to streamline operations and increase non-interest income. Expectations are that implementation of changes as a result of this review will produce meaningful results in 1999.