In Brief: Duff Assigns BB-Plus To Bank United Note

Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. assigned a BB-plus rating to Bank United Corp.'s $220 million subordinated note issue maturing May 1, 2007.

Duff said the rating recognizes such positives as the low-risk nature of the subsidiary bank's asset mix coupled with solid regulatory capital ratios and effective management of interest rate risk.

These positives are offset, the rating agency said, by relatively low levels of core profitability, an over-reliance on wholesale funding, and the risks inherent in the transition from an institution with a residential mortgage-based business focus to a more diversified financial services company.

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