Countrywide Financial, the largest mortgage lender in the US, has fallen into debt for the first time in 25 years following the sub-prime crisis. The last quarter saw a loss of £585 million, citing disruptions to the US mortgage and global capital markets for the loss. The main reason for the companys losses is that it offered a number of high risk loan products. Furthermore, the value of loans originating in the last quarter fell from $118 million (£58 million) to $96 million (£47 million).
However, the firm has predicted a return to profits by the end of the year, having withdrawn from the sub-prime sector and cut roughly 10,000 jobs. This confidence has seen share prices rise from $1.89 to $14.96, though this is still a long way off their February peak value of $45.










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