Countrywide Loan Amounts Jump 23%
From Bloomberg News
Countrywide Financial Corp., the third-largest U.S. mortgage lender, said the amount of loans it made in March rose 23% from the previous month as U.S. mortgage rates reached a 40-year low.
The rise followed two consecutive months of declines.
Countrywide, based in Calabasas, lent $37.9 billion, up from $30.9 billion in February. That February figure represented an 8.3% drop in volume over what the company recorded for January.
Loans to buy homes rose 44% to $9.51 billion, while refinance loans rose 17% to $28.3 billion, the company said.
Countrywide shares fell $1.30 to $58.10 on the NYSE.
