Depositors Rush to Pull $ Out of Countrywide

Nervous depositors rushed to pull money out of Countrywide's thrift unit on Thursday, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.The newspaper did not offer any withdrawal figures, but described the scene at some of Countrywide's branches as something that has not been witnessed since the nation's savings-and-loan crisis of the mid-1980s. The newspaper reported that one depositor who pulled money out was Bill Ashmore, president of Impac Mortgage, an alternative-A lender that competes against Countrywide. (Impac itself is having financial difficulties.) Mr. Ashmore withdrew $500,000 from Countrywide Bank and transferred it to an account at Bank of America.