Countrywide Reassures Market on Liquidity

Meanwhile, in the wake of the growing subprime liquidity crisis, Countrywide Financial Corp. issued a statement Aug. 2 to reassure the market about the "continuing adequacy" of its liquidity and financial strength."Countrywide has longstanding and time-tested funding liquidity contingency planning," said Eric P. Sieracki, chief financial officer. "These planning protocols were designed to encompass a wide variety of conditions, including recent secondary-market volatility.... We place major emphasis on the adequacy, reliability and diversity of our funding sources. It is important to note that short-term liquidity is used exclusively to fund our highest-credit-quality, most-liquid assets." Mr. Sieracki said there have been no disruptions in financing the company's daily operations, including the placement of commercial paper.