Mortgage Volume Declines at Countrywide

Mortgage lending continued its slide in September, leading to a 22 percent decrease in fundings at Countrywide Financial Corp. for the month and the quarter. Calabasas-based Countrywide reported that it funded 21.7 percent fewer mortgages for home purchases in the month and the third quarter for mortgage volume totals of $18 billion and $54 billion respectively. The company said that home equity loan fundings were relatively flat for the month at $3.8 billion and for the quarter at $12 billion. Average daily mortgage application activity in September was $2.8 billion compared with $3 billion in September, 2005. “Declining interest rates spurred a 7 percent increase in average daily applications from August to September,” said Angelo R. Mozilo, chairman and CEO of Countrywide in a statement.