Countrywide Financial Corp. said its October mortgage loan fundings fell 48% from a year earlier as the company continues to suffer from the ongoing credit crunch.
The nation's largest mortgage firm said it funded $22 billion in loans last month, with average daily applications dropping 34% to $1.8 billion. The company's pipeline was $41 billion as of Oct. 31, compared with $61 billion a year earlier and $42 billion on Sept. 30.
President and Chief Operating Officer David Sambol said, "October's operating results continue to be indicative of current market trends."
However, he noted, total fundings were up 4% from September and average daily applications and the mortgage loan pipeline were flat with the previous month.
Subprime fundings were 0.2% of total mortgage loan fundings in October.
The loan delinquency rate grew to 5.94% last month from 5.9% in September. The year-earlier rate was 3.97%.
Last month, Countrywide used its Countrywide Bank unit, a federal savings bank, to fund more than 90% of its loans, up from 89% in September. The bank provides a more stable source of funding than the commercial-paper market and other short-term instruments that were the only source of funding for dozens of smaller lenders that have collapsed in recent months. The savings bank also can borrow from the Federal Home Loan Banks, government-sponsored cooperatives.
Countrywide originates or funds roughly one out of every six mortgages in the U.S.
The company said commercial real estate funding volume slid 59% to $752 million in October.
Last month, Countrywide said it expects to return to profitability this quarter after posting its first quarterly loss in 25 years.
Shares of Countryside closed Monday at $13.19 and traded at $13.55 in pre-market trading.
