Bank of America Should Skip Countrywide, Analyst Says

Bank of America Corp., the second- biggest U.S. bank, should abandon its takeover of Countrywide Financial Corp. because the mortgage lender's loans may be written down by as much as $30 billion, Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. said.

Analyst Paul Miller cut his rating on Countrywide to ``underperform'' from ``market perform'' and lowered his price target to $2 a share from $7, according to a note today from the Arlington, Virginia-based company.

``Bank of America should completely walk away from the Countrywide deal, as Countrywide's loan portfolio will prove a drag on earnings and could force Bank of America to raise additional capital,'' Miller wrote.