Countrywide boosts cash position

The nation's largest mortgage lender drew down an $11.5 billion credit facility to boost its cash position. The move, announced this morning, is the result of Countrywide not having access to unsecured commercial-paper, which is a big problem if you're in the mortgage lending business. "As we have previously discussed, secondary market demand for non-agency mortgage-backed securities has been disrupted in recent weeks," said President David Sambol. The Calabasas.-based firm also plans to move all its mortgage-production operations into its banking operations (it now originates more than 70 percent of its volume through Countrywide Bank). In premarket trading, shares of Countrywide fell 19 percent. (Bloomberg)