Countrywide Relied on FHLBank Advances in 3Q

Countywide Bank turned to the Atlanta Federal Home Loan Bank during the tumultuous third quarter and dramatically increased its borrowings of advances to $51 billion.While other mortgage lenders were facing a funding crunch, Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., had integrated its mortgage lending operations into its McLean, Va.-based thrift, which is the Atlanta FHLBank's largest borrower, with 36.8% of outstanding advances. Nearly 90% of Countrywide's loan production was funded through the thrift in September. Countrywide Bank is the third-largest federal savings bank in the United States. At the end of 2006, Countrywide Bank had $28.2 billion in advances from the Atlanta FHLBank. The FHLBank's second-largest borrower was SunTrust Bank, with $7.4 billion in advances. Countrywide can be found on the Web at http://www.countrywide.com.