BankAtlantic still reeling from loans

Fort Lauderdale-based BankAtlantic Bancorp saw its quarterly loss expand by a factor of six, buffeted by continuing heavy loan losses. The bank reported a third-quarter net loss of $38.4 million compared with a loss of $6.1 million in the year-ago quarter. The bank was obliged to set aside larger amounts of money as a provision against its bad loan portfolio. BankAtlantic’s Tier 1 risk-based capital, a measure of financial strength, was 11.6 percent — far above the 6 percent benchmark that regulators consider “well capitalized.” [Miami Herald]