Effort Designed To Help Families Avoid Foreclosure
WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Countrywide Financial Corporation
(NYSE: CFC) today joined with credit and homeowners' counselors, mortgage
servicers and secondary market investors in announcing the formation of the
HOPE NOW Alliance, a collaborative effort formed with the encouragement of
the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
The HOPE NOW Alliance brings together the resources of the public,
non-profit and private sectors in addressing the challenges facing
homeowners who are experiencing financial distress and allows for the
sharing of best practices to engage customers who are at risk and pursue
options to avoid foreclosure.
"We have 2,700 trained professionals on our homeownership preservation
team who work tirelessly to keep our customers in their homes," said Angelo
Mozilo, Chief Executive Officer of CFC. "We are excited about this new
effort to leverage the collective expertise of the public and private
sector to help as many families as possible achieve sustainable
homeownership."
The HOPE NOW Alliance members will work together to explore several
ways to reach at risk homeowners including a national direct mail campaign
that will encourage them to contact their lender or a credit counselor.
"Engaging our customers early in the process if they are experiencing
financial hardship allows us greater flexibility in finding solutions to
keep them in their home," said Steve Bailey, Senior Managing Director for
Loan Administration. "So far this year, Countrywide has helped over 40,000
people stay in their home and this effort is designed to greatly increase
that number."
In addition to the campaign to raise awareness about reaching out for
assistance for at risk homeowners, the Alliance will work to improve
communications between servicers and non-profit counselors to speed
outreach and to develop and explain options for at risk borrowers. The
Alliance will also develop standards with investors to enable counseling
sessions for homeowners to be funded by servicing contracts.
If you are a Countrywide customer and you are experiencing difficulties
in making your mortgage payments you should call Countrywide immediately at
800-669-6650. The Alliance is encouraging any homeowner who is in distress
to call their lender as soon as possible or go to the HUD website
http://www.HUD.gov or http://www.MyMoneyManagement.net to find non profit
credit counselors. Consumers can also find information on these resources
at http://www.hopenow.com.
About Countrywide
Founded in 1969, Countrywide Financial Corporation is a diversified
financial services provider and a member of the S&P 500, Forbes 2000 and
Fortune 500. Through its family of companies, Countrywide originates,
purchases, securitizes, sells, and services residential and commercial
loans; provides loan closing services such as credit reports, appraisals
and flood determinations; offers banking services which include depository
and home loan products; conducts fixed income securities underwriting and
trading activities; provides property, life and casualty insurance; and
manages a captive mortgage reinsurance company. For more information about
the Company, visit Countrywide's website at http://www.countrywide.com.
SOURCE Countrywide Financial Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.countrywide.com
http://www.hopenow.com http://www.HUD.gov
http://www.MyMoneyManagement.net
CONTACT:
media, Jumana Bauwens, 1-800-796-8448,
pressroom@countrywide.com, or investors, Investor Relations,
+1-818-225-3550, both of Countrywide Financial Corporation
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