By Greg Morcroft
RISMEDIA, August 17, 2007—(MarketWatch)—Troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial said it has been forced to tap an $11.5 billion credit facility to fund its operations as difficulty raising money in the credit markets threatened its business.
The firm also said it has accelerated its plans to migrate its mortgage production operations into Countrywide Bank, FSB.
“For many years, Countrywide’s liquidity management framework has focused on maintaining a diverse, multi-layered assortment of financing alternatives,” President David Sambol said in a press release. “A primary component of this framework is a committed, unsecured credit facility of $11.5 billion provided by a syndicate of 40 of the world’s largest banks. In response to widely-reported market conditions, Countrywide has elected to draw upon this entire facility to supplement its funding liquidity position,” he said.