Western & Southern to Buy Countrywide Unit

Western & Southern Life Insurance Co. agreed to buy the asset management business of Countrywide Financial Services Inc., the biggest non-bank mortgage lender in the U.S. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction would bring the 111-year-old Western & Southern to more than $20 billion in assets owned or under management. Countrywide has $1.3 billion in assets under management and $15.4 billion in assets under administration. Shares of Countrywide’s Calabasas-based parent company, Countrywide Credit Industries, fell $1.44 to close at $33.06; they have plunged 33.7% this year. By contrast, the Standard & Poor’s financial index, which includes Countrywide Credit, has climbed 5.3% this year, including dividends.