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Distress has infected Countrywide's option adjustable-rate mortgages business, as thousands of customers reportedly owe nearly as much as their homes are worth. Reuters reports that 12.4% of borrowers are at least 90 days delinquent in their payments and 72% of homeowners were not making full interest payments. The growing percentages have been attributed to continuing decline in home prices and borrowers who are walking away from their properties. "People still don't understand what a catastrophe this is," said Christopher Whalen, senior v.p. at California-based Institutional Risk Analytics. "The guys who are really on the hook are Bank of America shareholders."