Bank of America Completes Countrywide Financial Purchase
Bank of America Corporation today completed its purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp. to create the nation’s leading mortgage originator and servicer.
Bank of America will focus on responsible home lending, serving as a reliable source of mortgages for the American consumer. Bank of America also will assist new and existing customers with selecting the right product to meet their needs.
“Mortgages are one of the three main cornerstone consumer financial products along with deposits and credit cards,” said Bank of America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth D. Lewis. “This purchase significantly increases Bank of America’s market share in consumer real estate, and as our companies combine, we believe Bank of America will benefit from excellent systems and a broad distribution network that will offer more ways to meet our customers’ credit needs.”
Countrywide Teams Up With New Vista Asset Management To Turn Foreclosures Into Opportunities For Home Buyers
Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), a diversified financial services provider, and New Vista Asset Management have joined together to find qualified buyers for Countrywide’s REO properties. The program is designed to help minimize the impact of foreclosures on neighborhoods by reaching out to consumers interested in residing in these communities. In the relationship, New Vista’s network of real estate professionals who have deep roots in minority communities are assigned the responsibility and will work to ensure that prepared homebuyers, often first-time and minority homebuyers working with New Vista professionals, have the opportunity to purchase REO properties.
Countrywide and ACORN Partner For Foreclosure Prevention
Countrywide Financial Corporation and the Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), have reached an agreement that will
further enhance the process for helping borrowers who are delinquent on
their subprime loan payments find home retention solutions and avoid
foreclosure.
Countrywide and ACORN have partnered to formalize workout programs for
borrowers with all types of subprime loans, not just hybrid adjustable rate
mortgages (”ARMS”) with pending rate resets. Further, the agreement
addresses home retention options and procedures for borrowers in various
stages of mortgage delinquency, not just borrowers who are current in their
payments. In these ways, the initiative broadens the approaches of
Countrywide’s previously announced $16 billion home retention initiative,
and the industry-backed HOPE NOW(R) alliance program.
Bank of America to buy Countrywide
Bank of America Corp. said Friday it has agreed to buy Countrywide Financial for $4 billion in stock, a deal that both rescues the country’s biggest mortgage lender and expands the financial services empire of the nation’s largest consumer bank.
The acquisition will make Charlotte-based Bank of America the nation’s biggest mortgage lender and loan servicer.
“Countrywide presents a rare opportunity for Bank of America to add what we believe is the best domestic mortgage platform at an attractive price and to affirm our position as the nation’s premier lender to consumers,” Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis said in a statement.