COUNTRYWIDE FORECASTS FALLOUT.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer CALABASAS - Countrywide Financial Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) is a diversified financial marketing and service holding company engaged primarily in residential mortgage banking and related businesses. Corp. executives on Wednesday issued a broad earnings forecast for 2005 and said there could be some fallout from the troubles at Fannie Mae Fannie Mae: see Federal National Mortgage Association. and Freddie Mac Freddie Mac: see Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. during President George W. Bush's second term. Federally chartered housing agencies could face more scrutiny and tighter regulation over the next four years as a result of regulators examining their accounting practices. Company executives, in a conference call with analysts, said this could have long-term implications for the industry. And the company chairman and chief executive officer, Angelo R. Mozilo Angelo R. Mozilo is the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial. He is the son of a Bronx butcher. In 1969 he and David Loeb, who had already started a mortgage lending company, founded Countrywide Credit Industries in New York. , noted that any additional costs to lenders would be passed on to consumers. Dick Bove, managing director for financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. at Punk Ziegel & Co., told Reuters that Republicans think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have outlived their usefulness. ``The Republicans have a real opportunity to adjust the position of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and that will impact all of the companies that are heavily dependent on those two agencies,'' he said. The two institutions sell guarantees ensuring loan payments to lenders, which helps them market mortgages to investors. Officials at Countrywide, based in Calabasas, also said in their first assessment of next year's business that they expect per-share earnings to range between $3.25 and $4.25. They also forecast decent growth, low inflation and only modest gains in interest rates over the next several years. The high end of the earnings forecast is above the consensus of $3.83 per share in Thomson First Call's analyst survey, which has Countrywide's earnings ranging from $3.20 to $4.25. Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER TYO: 8675 ), through its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides capital markets services, investment banking and advisory services, wealth management, asset management, insurance, banking and related products and services on a global basis. analyst Kenneth Bruce said in a note Wednesday that the midpoint mid·point n. 1. Mathematics The point of a line segment or curvilinear arc that divides it into two parts of the same length. 2. A position midway between two extremes. of Countywide's forecast is 8 cents under Wall Street's consensus and that investors could view this as a negative. ``As was generally expected, the company guided to a wide range,'' Bruce said. The mortgage banking sector is dealing with a tougher climate that followed the refinance Refinance 1. When a business or person revises their payment schedule for repaying debt. 2. Replacing an older loan with a new loan offering better terms. Notes: When a business refinances they typically extend the maturity date. boom, which peaked in the middle of last year. For example, on Oct. 20, Countrywide reported that its third-quarter profit fell by 47 percent from the year-earlier level in response to the winding down of refinancing activity. Still, it was the company's fourth-best quarter ever. Countrywide's stock closed Wednesday at $32.09, down 40 cents. Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com |
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