Countrywide making progress despite falling shares

Countrywide Home Loans, a leading US mortgage lender's shares fell again for the second day in a row, 44 per cent drop in home loan volumes reported, but company claims progress being made.

On Wednesday, Countrywide Financial saw the second straight day of drops in shares. This comes after the reported 44 per cent drop in home loan volumes that were reported for December. Yet, Countrywide claims that the company is making progress.

The market slide was coupled with the fact that economists believe that the slide in Countrywide Financial Corp shares will only make matters worse for other companies. Companies such as AT&T Inc and Dow Jones Industrials also took a sharp dive in trading Wednesday ending nearly 240 points lower.

Additional reports came from the National Association of Realtors which tracks pending US home sales. It reports that sales fell 2.6 per cent in November which was a larger number than most economists thought.

Countrywide Financial is a leading mortgage lender in the US. Many traders believe that Countrywide is just steps from facing bankruptcy, though the company continues to deny that that is the case. The drop by some 17 per cent in stocks was not rallied by these reports.

According to Countrywide's chief operating officer, David Sambol, "Management is pleased with the progress we have made in positioning the company to navigate the current challenging environment." The company says it is progressing with December mortgage volumes increases by 1 per cent over November, figures the company says were better than expected.

Still, the news is not good for Countrywide across the big pictures. Angelo Mozilo, chief executive, said that the housing slump across the country is the worst since the Great Depression. Note that Countrywide is also one of the leading sup prime lenders in the US.