BNC to Buy Back More Stock

BNC Mortgage Inc. said Tuesday that its directors have approved the company’s purchase of as much as $1 million worth of its stock on the open market.

The extension of a previous stock purchase plan will enable the Irvine-based lender to retire thousands of shares of common stock in hopes of boosting the value of the shares that remain on the market. That can occur if investors value a stake in the company because, with fewer shares available for trading, each share represents an increased equity interest.

As of Monday, the company already had purchased 738,629 shares, or 13.3% of the originally issued stock, at a total cost of $4 million, or an average of $5.42 a share.

BNC stock closed at $4.63 in Nasdaq trading Tuesday, up 13 cents for the day.

“We believe that the value of the company is not reflected in the current market price of our common stock,” said BNC’s president, Kelly W. Monahan. The corporate purchase plan “reflects our continued confidence in the long-term potential of our company.”