Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Bank of America, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, JPMorgan Chase and Fujifilm Holdings

CHICAGO, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com Analyst Blog features: Bank of America Corporation BAC, Freddie Mac (OTC Bulletin Board: FMCC), Federal National Mortgage Association or Fannie Mae (OTC Bulletin Board: FNMA), JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM and Fujifilm Holdings Corporation (Pink Sheets: FUJIY).

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Here are highlights from Tuesday's Analyst Blog:

BofA Settles Loan Repurchase Line

On Monday, Bank of America Corporation BAC agreed to pay $2.62 billion to Freddie Mac FMCC and Federal National Mortgage Association or Fannie Mae FNMA. This will resolve the repurchase or "put back" claims related to certain residential mortgage loans sold to these Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) by Countrywide Financial Corporation. Countrywide was acquired by BofA for approximately $4 billion in 2008.

BofA had been facing significant problems in its balance sheet since its acquisition of Countrywide. Though the settlement of residential mortgage loans sold by Countrywide will help the company improve its financials in the long run, higher provisions will mar the near-term results.

According to BofA's declaration, the settlement deal includes:

• The payment of $1.28 billion to Freddie Mac for settling 787,000 loans claims (current and future) sold by Countrywide through 2008.
• The payment of $1.34 billion (after applying credits to an agreed upon settlement amount of $1.52 billion) to Fannie Mae to resolve repurchase claims on 12,045 Countrywide loans (with approximately $2.7 billion of unpaid principal balance) and resolve other specific claims on 5,760 Countrywide loans (nearly $1.3 billion of unpaid principal balance).

However, BofA commented that the agreement excludes loans contained in private label securitizations, loan servicing obligations and other contractual obligations. In addition, the settlement claim deal does not cover $600 million buyback demand from Freddie Mac and loans covered by the deal that turn out to be fraudulent or violated fair lending laws.

BofA also stated that it will make a provision of $3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, including the amount to be paid to two GSEs and an additional $2 billion for potential compensation claims in future. The reserves for such claims totaled nearly $4.4 billion as of September 30, 2010.

During the third quarter 2010 earnings release, BofA had stated that it had received approximately $8.7 billion repurchase claims on $910 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) sold to these two GSEs during the housing boom.

The put back problem started from the housing boom when the lenders (banks), who originated loans, sold them to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae or to private investors as MBS. However, when the housing bubble burst, a large number of these loans and MBS turned bad. And recently, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and other investors are asking banks to repurchase these loans at the original value.

BofA is not the only bank exposed to such repurchase claims. Many other large banks and financial institutions are being forced to repurchase troubled home loans. On December 27, 2010, Ally Financial had entered into a deal with Federal National Mortgage Association to pay $462 million to settle put back claims over the mortgages sold by its subsidiary, General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) Mortgage LCC. Similarly, in November 2010, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM had announced that it is setting aside $1 billion to repurchase toxic loans originated by Washington Mutual.

Though BofA is poised to benefit from its large scale operations, prudent capital management and non-core asset shedding, concerns related to inconsistent credit quality and the negative impact of the new financial reform law and the CARD Act continue to linger.

We expect BofA's provisions to settle future repurchase claims to weigh on its fourth quarter 2010 results, which is expected to be announced on January 21, 2011.

Currently, BofA's shares maintain a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. Also considering the company's fundamentals, we have a long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.

Fujifilm Concludes Share Buyback

Fujifilm Holdings Corporation FUJIY recently completed its buyback of 7.0 million shares for a total amount of 20 billion yen (US$246.3 million) instead of the initial announcement of 7.5 million shares.

Fujifilm is planning to invest a total of 110 billion yen (US$1.2 billion) in fiscal 2011 to enhance production in order to meet increasing demand, particularly in the emerging economies.

Fujifilm had a capital expenditure of 24.0 billion yen (US$286.8 million) in the second quarter of fiscal 2011, up 20.6% from 19.9 billion yen (US$221.2 million) in the year-ago quarter.

Free cash flow reduced to 24.7 billion yen in the first half of 2011 (US$277.4 million) from 119.9 billion yen (US$1.3 billion) during the first half of 2010 to meet working capital requirements. Total debt increased to 309.7 billion yen (US$3.7 billion) from 288.1 billion yen (US$3.2 billion) at the end of the same period of the previous year. Cash & cash equivalents dropped to 418.4 billion yen (US$5.0 billion) from 435.8 billion yen (US$4.8 billion) in the first half of fiscal 2010.

For fiscal 2011, management expects revenues of approximately 2,300 billion yen (US$25.6 billion) and operating income before restructuring and other charges of 170 billion yen (US$1.9 billion), with restructuring charges of approximately 25 billion yen (US$277.8 million). Operating income after restructuring and other charges is expected to reach around $120 billion (US$1.3 billion). Exchange rate is assumed to be 90 yen per US Dollar.

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