Lender
Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation’s largest mortgage lender, sank Tuesday to an all-time low as a major homebuilder offered a grim outlook for the industry and the Bush administration signaled it is growing more concerned about rising mortgage defaults.
KB Home reported a mammoth loss for the fourth quarter and said there are no indications that the housing market is stabilizing. The head of government-sponsored lender Fannie Mae predicted the housing market would weaken through 2009 and said a turnaround wasn’t likely until 2010.
The New York Stock Exchange temporarily halted trading of Countrywide shares before the company issued a statement denying rumors that a bankruptcy filing was imminent.
A rating analysis issued by Egan-Jones Ratings Co free credit report.com. suggested Countrywide “is severely challenged and might falter if it does not receive an infusion of at last $4 billion within the next couple of weeks.”
Countrywide shares finished down $2.17, or 28.4 percent, at $5.47.
after earlier falling to an all-time low of $5.05.