E-Trade Financial said on Friday it had seen continued declines in the fair value of its $3 billion asset-backed securities portfolio that will result in further write-downs in the fourth quarter.
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E-Trade shares dropped as much as 13 percent in after-hours trade Friday, having ended the regular Nasdaq trading session down one cent at $8.59.
The Internet brokerage also said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the SEC has launched an informal inquiry into issues related to its loans and securities portfolios.
E-Trade said it is cooperating fully with the agency on the inquiry, which was opened on Oct. 17.
The financial company said the deterioration of its securities portfolio since Sept. 30 will likely result in write-downs that exceed previous expectations included in the company's 2007 earnings outlook issued on Oct. 17, and investors should no longer expect those earnings levels.
At that time, E-Trade said it expected earnings of 75 cents to 90 cents per share for 2007. It said in its latest statement that it would not be helpful to offer further earnings expectations for the remainder of the year.
CNBC.com contributed to this article.