NACA Calls for Countrywide Boycott

Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is calling for a nationwide boycott against Countrywide Financial Corp., contending that the nation's largest mortgage lender and servicer is refusing to restructure loans so that homeowners can afford the payments and avoid foreclosure."Countrywide is the number one example of the abuses in the subprime industry," NACA chief executive Bruce Marks said. NACA plans to conduct demonstrations at Countrywide offices and discourage people from getting mortgages or certificates of deposit from the Calabasas, Calif.-based company. Countrywide had not commented by deadline time. NACA launched a campaign against Countrywide in August to draw regulators' attention to the company's lending and servicing practices. The Boston-based activist group has waged campaigns about other subprime lenders and has a mortgage broker operation that provides low-cost, fixed-rate mortgages to low- and moderate-income people.