The long-term Issuer Default Rating and senior debt rating of BankUnited Financial Corp. have been downgraded from BB to BB-minus by Fitch Ratings, partly as a result of losses on adjustable-rate mortgages. Fitch also downgraded certain other ratings of BankUnited and its subsidiaries and placed them on Rating Watch Negative. The downgrade of the long-term IDR was based on "reduced financial flexibility, as the operating bank subsidiary [BankUnited FSB] is increasingly challenged by asset quality deterioration," the rating agency said. Nonperforming assets surged 61% in the second quarter to $1.1 billion, primarily as a result of problems related to the payment-option ARM portfolio, Fitch said.
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