Christopher Shearer
By Nick Timiraos
Associated Press
Bank of American and Countrywide offices in Pasadena, Calif., last year.
Bank of America is retiring the Countrywide name and rebranding the home mortgage lender as Bank of America Home Loans.
The Charlotte-based lender acquired Countrywide last July for $2.5 billion, as the housing market imploded, many of Countrywide's loans soured, and the Calabassas, Calif.-based lender struggled to find new sources of capital. Countrywide, founded in 1969, had been blamed for aggressive lending practices that helped, in part, to fuel the housing boom, and the company faces a federal investigation and several lawsuits concerning its business practices.
In launching the new Bank of America Home Loans brand, the bank said it would offer customers a one-page loan summary in "straightforward language" that would explain information on an individual's loans, including closing costs, interest rates, monthly payments and payment terms.
Bank of America's lending volume increased 79% in the first quarter from the previous quarter to $89.3 billion in mortgage and home equity loans, largely as a result of a boom in refinancing as rates fall to record lows. Bank of America was the only top-five lender in the fourth quarter that maintained its volume of jumbo loans, which are too large for government backing and which private investors have largely shied away from.
Wall Street Jounal 04-29-2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment