BoA 'Committed' to Countrywide's TPOs

Bank of America confirmed Monday that it is committed to maintaining the wholesale and correspondent platforms of Countrywide Financial Corp., which it purchased on July 1. According to the Quarterly Data Report, the Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide was the nation's largest correspondent lender and second-largest wholesaler in the first quarter, with production volumes of $31 billion and $9 billion, respectively. In a presentation released along with its second-quarter earnings, the Charlotte, N.C.-based BoA noted that the Countrywide mortgage franchise would discontinue the origination of certain types of nonconforming loans, including payment-option adjustable-rate mortgages. It reported that Countrywide will "significantly curtail" its use of low-documentation loans. Countrywide is no longer funding subprime loans of any type. In the first quarter, Countrywide's subprime servicing portfolio had a delinquency rate of 33%.