Countrywide Reassures in Wake of Stock Drop

Countrywide Financial Corp. Calabasas, Calif., issued a statement saying "management continues to believe that Countrywide has ample liquidity and capital" in response to market jitters that have sent the company's stock price sharply lower in recent days.Countrywide said it had $35.4 billion in "highly reliable liquidity" at the end of October, up $1.8 billion from the previous month. In addition, the company said its bank has accumulated "contingent liquidity" in response to evolving market conditions and that Countrywide Home Loans is expected to service debt maturities beyond 2008 without additional debt issuance. Countrywide noted that Moody's Investors Service earlier this week confirmed Countrywide's investment grade credit ratings. But Countrywide's stock continued to tumble early Wednesday, falling 9% by noon.