Deutsche Bank Initiates Coverage of Mortgage Stocks

An analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. has initiated coverage of Countrywide Financial Corp., Golden West Financial Corp., and Washington Mutual Inc.Neil Abromavage said mortgage-related stocks have "significantly outperformed" the equity market over the past two years, and that "we believe current valuations reflect much of the solid fundamental performance delivered during that time period." He added, however, that Deutsche Bank Securities is "thinking more cautiously about interest rate risk and the ripple effect of potential political and regulatory issues for the housing-related U.S. government-sponsored enterprises in 2004." The parent company, Deutsche Bank AG, can be found online at http://www.deutsche-bank.com.