|
Countrywide Again Is Nation's Top Servicer
By Ted Cornwell
CALABASAS, CA- The company's stock is in the tank, it's origination volume is falling, and Wall Street is worried about its ability to weather credit losses, but Countrywide Financial Corporation continues to grow its mortgage servicing portfolio.
Countrywide reported in December that it's servicing portfolio had grown to $1.47 trillion, putting it on track to possibly become the first lender to crack the $1.5 trillion mark. (Wells Fargo's servicing portfolio totaled $1.43 trillion as of September 30. Year-end figures for Wells weren't available yet.)
Countrywide now services more than 9 million home loans.
Data from our SourceMedia's own database products group shows that Countrywide edged out Wells in the third quarter, though just barely, as the nation's largest mortgage servicer. What's more telling is how much Countrywide grew between September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2007. The company's 17% servicing growth rate was nearly double Wells' 9% growth rate during that time period.
Countrywide said the delinquency rate on its servicing portfolio was 6.52% in November of 2007, up from 4.15% of the dollar volume of loans serviced a year earlier.
The pending foreclosure rate doubled from a year earlier to 1.28% in November of 2007 based on the dollar volume of loans serviced.
The origination picture is more sobering. Countrywide's home loan funding volume in November totaled $23 billion, a 40% decline from November of 2006. However, November funding volume was up 5% from the October level. The company's origination mix has shifted toward retail originations instead of third party originations and a greater percentage of government-backed loans, which accounted for 10% of Countrywide's volume in November.
David Sambol, Countrywide's president and chief operating officer, said Countrywide backs the HOPE NOW initiative to help mortgage servicers aid borrowers who are facing imminent increases in their monthly mortgage bill because of rate resets.
"As a founding member and strong advocate of the HOPE NOW Alliance, we commend all those involved for seeking ways to work together on a solution to assist borrowers facing challenges in today's marketplace. This initiative aligns with Countrywide's own $16 billion home preservation plan announced in October," Mr. Sambol said in a news release.
Click here for an archive of stories from the MSN newsletter.
| 
