Countrywide cuts jobs, says bank clients shouldn't fret

LOS ANGELES -- Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, said yesterday it has eliminated about 500 jobs as it tries to ride out problems from a credit crunch that has rocked the home loan industry.

The company said the cuts came in the subprime lending unit of its wholesale lending division and its full spectrum lending unit, which handles mortgages given to customers with minor credit problems or who can't provide full income documentation required for traditional prime loans.

"Approximately 500 positions have been eliminated across the country. The company will monitor market changes and production levels on an ongoing basis and respond as appropriate," Countrywide said in a prepared statement.

Countrywide employs more than 60,000 people.

The Calabasas-based company also tried to reassure its banking customers that their money was safe.

Countrywide ran full-page ads in US newspapers, including The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and Detroit Free Press, in which it asserted "the future is bright" at Countrywide Bank FSB.

The ads noted the bank has more than $100 billion in assets, investment-grade ratings from three major credit agencies, and that the credit woes hurting its mortgage lending business don't affect federally insured deposits at its 105 financial centers around the nation.

It's a message Countrywide has tried to get across since last week, when a Wall Street analyst suggested the company could end up in bankruptcy if the liquidity crunch sparked by rising mortgage defaults worsens.

"For the next several weeks, months -- whatever it takes -- we're going to try to reassure folks that we're growing and we're a solid company," Countrywide Financial spokesman Daniel Weidman said.