CFC Cites Strong Volume, but Stock Falls

Countrywide Home Loans, the nation's largest residential lender, funded $49 billion in mortgages during September, a 58% gain from the volume in the same month last year, but the news didn't help its stock price.For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Countrywide funded a record $146 billion, according to figures released by the company Oct. 11. In trading Tuesday, its share price fell about 1% to $30.70, just 40 cents above its 52-week low. Even though Countrywide's September-to-September production increased nicely, it was down 7.8% from the August level. At the end of the third quarter its servicing portfolio totaled $1.047 trillion, a 32% annualized gain. Over the past two months many publicly traded subprime stocks -- especially real estate investment trusts -- have tested new lows. Countrywide, though, is not a REIT. It ranks third among subprime funders, according to the Quarterly Data Report.