Inman

Seasonal slowdown continues at Countrywide

Mortgage loan fundings at Countrywide Financial totaled $31 billion in February, up 15 percent from a year ago but down for the second straight month, the company reported today.

In January, mortgage loan fundings came in at $33 billion, which was a large decrease from December’s fundings of $44 billion.

Monthly purchase volume was $14 billion last month, unchanged from the previous month, but was 12 percent higher than February 2005.

“February operational results reflected across-the-board growth compared to February 2005,” said Stanford L. Kurland, president and chief operating officer. “Compared to January 2006, mortgage loan funding volume decreased modestly as a result of typical seasonal effects…”

Operational highlights included the following:

  • Adjustable-rate loan fundings for February were $16 billion, an increase of 11 percent from February 2005.

  • Home equity loan fundings for February rose by 30 percent from February 2005 to $3.4 billion.

  • Nonprime loan fundings in February were $2.8 billion, up from $2.6 billion for the same period last year.

  • Pay-option loan fundings for the month were $5.6 billion, up from $4.6 billion in February 2005. Interest-only loan volume was $6.3 billion for February, up from $4.6 billion for the same period a year ago.

  • Average daily mortgage loan application activity in February was $2.5 billion, up 8 percent from the February 2005 level. The mortgage loan pipeline also rose by 8 percent from Feb. 28, 2005, to reach $59 billion at Feb. 28, 2006.

  • The mortgage loan servicing portfolio totaled $1.14 trillion at Feb. 28, 2006, an increase of $259 billion, or 29 percent, from Feb. 28, 2005.

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