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CFC- soon to be BB stock as it crashes and burns

Countrywide to expand UK mortgage lending in 2006
Tue Mar 15, 2005 02:07 PM ET
http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh56919_2005-03-15_19-07-00_n15...

NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) - Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , the largest U.S. mortgage bank, will expand its presence in the United Kingdom next year where it plans to focus on mortgage lending to riskier consumers, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.
Countrywide of Calabasas, California is already in the UK through a joint venture with Barclays Plc (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) , which has Countrywide processing mortgage loans aimed at the most credit- worthy consumers for the British bank.

"We think there's a great opportunity for us there," Angelo Mozilo, chief executive officer at Countrywide told Reuters on the sidelines of a banking conference.
Mozilo said lenders, such as building societies, in UK markets focus on prime and super prime loans -- borrowers with very good credit.

"Alt-A (loans) fall into another category," he told analysts. "We think we can play a major role there in that business."

Alt-A loans, otherwise known as alternative A loans, are mortgages for borrowers who fall just short of qualifying for the lowest available borrowing costs or rates.

"We won't compete against Barclays. They are in the super prime area. There's a ton of business done underneath that strata," Mozilo told Reuters.

Mozilo said Countrywide has already interviewed job candidates for its UK expansion, which it had initially planned for this year. But the UK expansion was delayed because he wanted to fully focus on Countrywide's U.S. mortgage banking amid the rise in U.S. interest rates.

Countrywide, with roots in mortgage banking, has built up its reach throughout the United States with retail bank branches that have assets of $46 billion, the creation of a primary dealer securities arm and an expansion into commercial real estate finance.

Last year, Countrywide underwrote $363 billion of U.S. mortgage loans. It also has emerged as a leading servicer of mortgage loans, a business that involves the monthly collection of mortgage payments. In 2004, Countrywide serviced $878 billion in home loans.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

Panic selling as house prices slide
Published: 07:35 Tuesday 15 March 2005
By: Lorna Bourke, Money Columnist-Citywire (UK)
http://www.citywire.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?VersionID=72797&NewsPage=2

New property coming onto the market has risen to the highest level since May 2003, according to the latest housing market monthly survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). It looks suspiciously like sellers panicking as they see house prices on the slide. 'Buyer activity is still limited,’ said Rics, 'while the number of sellers continues to increase moderately, resulting in a significant increase of property on surveyors' books, which is up 32% over the past year.'

February saw a small increase in the number of agreed sales, although completed sales slipped slightly. Sales are down 33% on the same month of last year. The number of new queries from potential buyers is unchanged. Concerns over another increase in interest rates are holding back demand, the report says, despite the generally strong economy and labour market.

The ratio of completed sales to the numbers of property on estate agents books fell to 27%, its lowest level since 1996, before the current boom got under way. The long-term average is 37%. In other words, buyers are holding back expecting prices to go lower, and properties are sticking.

'More people are waiting on the sidelines as a result of renewed uncertainty over interest rates,' said Ian Perry of Rics. 'With the influx of property on the market, they are now spoilt for choice and can afford to be noncommittal, signifying a turnaround from the days when it was a seller's market.'

The uncertainty is likely to continue for some months, as the Bank of England is unlikely to raise interest rates before the expected May election. And much depends on the price of oil. If this continues to stick at over $50 a barrel, it will inevitably bring rising costs for any business which has a product to distribute, and inflation will be the inevitable result. This could mean still more interest rate increases, in addition to the expected 0.25% in mid-May.

The Rics survey reports house prices continuing to fall, although they eased to the lowest pace in five months, with 32% of chartered surveyors reporting a fall in house prices, down 4% from last month. With the growing choice of available property for potential buyers, prices are likely to remain restrained, with surveyors anticipating modest price falls over the next few months.

Price declines were greatest in the West Midlands, followed by the South East and East Anglia. London remains unchanged while price falls eased in the South West and Wales. Northern England continues to see moderate declines while Scotland is still enjoying price rises.

Like many others in the property business, Rics is calling for concessions on stamp duty in tomorrow's Budget. 'Rics would like to see the chancellor send a message of support to first-time buyers in this year's budget by introducing a long overdue rise in the stamp duty zero rate threshold. We would like to see the threshold rise to £150,000, although it is unlikely to be raised to this level in one step, given the government's current fiscal position.'