COUNTRYWIDE GOES FOR NEW IDENTITY NAME EMPHASIZES FINANCIAL SERVICES.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

CALABASAS - Countrywide Credit Industries Inc. said Monday it will change its name to Countrywide Financial Corp., reflecting a desire to chisel a new identity as a financial services group.

Angelo Mozilo, chairman, chief executive officer and president of the Calabasas-based company, will herald the name change by ringing the opening bell Wednesday at the New York Stock Exchange.

The new ticker symbol will be CFC.

The company would not reveal the costs associated with the name change.

``Countrywide has undergone an evolution, and this name change speaks to the company's new perspective,'' said Doug Perry, a first vice president who has worked at the company for 15 years.

Countrywide's growth is evident in several newly formed business segments that now contribute to the company's bottom line. Most recently, the company introduced Countrywide Bank, a division of Treasury Bank, which was created in 2001 and boasts about $5 billion in assets.

``As Countrywide progresses in its diversification efforts and takes its deserved place among the elite financial services providers, this name change sends a powerful message of our determination and commitment to future growth,'' Mozilo said in a statement.

In addition to changing the company's letterhead, analysts say Countrywide's transformation is more psychological than physical.

Jennifer Scutti, an analyst with CIBC World Markets Corp. in New York, said the company is trying to emerge as a multifaceted financial services group.

Though mortgage lending still accounts for about 70 percent of Countrywide's revenues, the company wants to whittle down its lending segment to 50 percent by 2006.

``Countrywide is trying to demonstrate through the name change that the company has evolved without losing the brand it has embodied for several decades,'' Scutti said. ``This is a symbol they're putting out there to show an evolution.''

When Mozilo formed the core mortgage company in 1969 he began diversifying almost immediately by offering homeowners insurance because of increased demand for that product.

But changing a company's name also has its share of dangers.

Brian Connett, a marketing professor at California State University, Northridge, said brand recognition could be lost when a company changes its name.

``What's in a name depends on whose name,'' Connett said. ``And you don't want to confuse your customers.''

Countrywide's subsidiaries, including Countrywide Home Loans, will continue to retain their names. The change only affects the parent company's name.

``Countrywide's move is a positive if it broadens the perception of the average consumer,'' Connett said.

Countrywide's stock could also use a jolt of awareness.

Mark Agah, analyst with RBC Capital Markets in San Francisco, said the stock should be trading significantly higher given the company's value.

Countrywide shares declined 31 cents to close at $50.55 Monday.

``My concern is that the company is not getting any credit for what they've been able to accomplish,'' Agah said. ``To some people, they are always just going to be a mortgage company.''

Country Home Loans funded a record $184 billion in mortgage loan originations since January, surpassing last year's full year record of $138 billion.

In Countrywide's most recent quarter, earnings rose to $228.5 million, or $1.74 per share, from $149.2 million, or $1.20 per share, a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the company's insurance segment has more than 4 million policies in force through its subsidiaries.

``These other segments are especially important as the street awaits the mortgage lending business to dry up,'' Agah said. ``It certainly is a good time for the name change.''

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