CALABASAS, Calif. – Troubled mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp. yesterday reported it lost $893 million for the first quarter, as it moved billions of news funds into its allowance for soaring loan losses.
The huge first quarter loss marked the third straight quarterly loss for Countrywide, which is preparing to be acquired by Bank of America.
The company said its loss amounted to $1.60 per share for the quarter ending March 31. A year earlier, it earned $434 million, or 72 cents per share. Revenue plunged 72% to $679 million, from $2.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Charge-offs totaled $606 million during the quarter, compared to just $39 million in the same quarter last year, the company said.
The latest results reflected $3.05 billion in credit-related charges. That includes $1.5 billion set aside to cover losses on mortgage loans, up from $158 million in the year-ago period.
Countrywide also set aside $456 million to cover warranty claims, up from $42 million a year earlier. And it made a provision for $441 million for the impairment of certain loan types, including accelerated payoffs of home equity lines of credit.
