NEW YORK, NY--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services says there are no ratings implications for Astoria Financial Corp. (Astoria; BBB/Stable/--) in light of the company's disclosure that it will likely need to take an other-than-temporary impairment charge on its Freddie Mac preferred securities in third–quarter 2008.
As of June 30, 2008, Astoria owned Freddie Mac preferred stock 
with a book value of $83.7 million. We expect that the write-down will be a substantial portion of the securities' book value, given the elimination of dividends and sharp decline in market value for these securities.
Further, we expect that Astoria may post a small net loss during for the third quarter as a result of the write-down. However, we believe that capital levels will be affected only slightly in the third quarter. The stable ratings outlook on Astoria includes the assumption that capital levels will stabilize or rebound in the subsequent few quarters through retained ear
nings.
with a book value of $83.7 million. We expect that the write-down will be a substantial portion of the securities' book value, given the elimination of dividends and sharp decline in market value for these securities.Further, we expect that Astoria may post a small net loss during for the third quarter as a result of the write-down. However, we believe that capital levels will be affected only slightly in the third quarter. The stable ratings outlook on Astoria includes the assumption that capital levels will stabilize or rebound in the subsequent few quarters through retained ear
nings.Media Contact:
Jeff Sexton, New York, (1) 212-438-3448, jeff_sexton@standardandpoors.com
Analyst Contacts:
Barbara Duberstein, New York (1) 212-438-5656
Vikas Jhaveri, New York (1) 212-438-3693
Barbara Duberstein, New York (1) 212-438-5656
Vikas Jhaveri, New York (1) 212-438-3693
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