More Trouble Has Countrywide Teetering

Mortgage lender sees stock dive again as foreclosures rise
By Jim O'Neill,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 9, 2008 1:40 PM CST
More Trouble Has Countrywide Teetering
A man walks into a Countrywide banking and loan office in San Mateo, Calif., Friday, Oct. 26, 2007. Countrywide Financial Corp. lost $1.2 billion in the third quarter, but its shares soared Friday after the nation's largest mortgage lender said it expects to be profitable this quarter and next year....   (Associated Press)

After its stock plunged yesterday on rumors it might declare bankruptcy, mortgage giant Countrywide Financial was its shares fall to a 12-year low today on news that foreclosures and late payments were up last month, Bloomberg reports. The subprime collapse has forced the company to lay off thousands, and it's under investigation by two states and the federal government.

"It appears that the housing trends in 2008 will look a lot like 2007, so Countrywide will remain under a lot of stress,'' one analyst said of the company, which saw its revenue from subprime mortgages fall to $6 million, down from $3.7 billion a year earlier. "What they are left with is a pretty low-margin business.'' (More Countrywide Financial stories.)

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