http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200708100004DOWJONESDJONLINE000009_FORTUNE5.htm
UPDATE: Countrywide: Secondary Mortage Market Conditions ‘unprecedented’
August 10, 2007: 12:04 AM EST
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) — Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said Thursday that “unprecedented” poor conditions in the secondary-mortgage market are causing it to retain a greater proportion of mortgage loans than it sells.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Countrywide said that while it plans to retain more loans until investor demand improves, it warned that a prolonged period of poor conditions “could have an adverse impact on our future earnings and financial condition.”
The disclosure was made as part of Countrywide’s (CFC) regular quarterly financial report with the SEC.
In July, Countrywide indicated that widespread troubles in the sub-prime mortgage market have spread to higher-quality loans, when it announced its second-quarter results.
At that time, Countrywide said it expected the general slowdown in the housing market to last at least until 2009.
“UBS effective August 9 has suspended mortgage
operations. Liquidity has completely vanished in the
mortgage markets.”
I was just reading it. I sense a return of the 20% down loans as the norm real soon.