Countrywide, GMAC Post Big Losses on Mortgages

Reuters (04/30/08); Stempel, Jonathan
Countrywide Financial Corp. and GMAC LLC reported disappointing results during the first quarter largely due to losses they had to take on the mortgages they hold for investment. The largest U.S. mortgage lender posted a loss of $893.1 million, compared with a profit of $434 million a year ago, as it took charges of more than $3 billion for write-downs and problem loans and its mortgage operations lost money. GMAC, meanwhile, saw its loss nearly double from $305 million to $589 million, as its Residential Capital (ResCap) mortgage arm posted a loss of $859 million, compared with last year's $910 million loss. Countrywide also said its mortgage loan volume fell 36 percent to $73 billion, and GMAC said the mortgage volume at ResCap, the eighth-largest mortgage lender, fell 44 percent to $20.9 billion.