Countrywide mortgage closings down 44 percent

Countrywide announced that its mortgage closings in September are down 44 percent compared to September, 2006.

This steep decline in mortgage fundings began right as Countrywide began shifting to originate conventional, conforming loans instead of riskier subprime and Alt-A loans.

To cope with a much smaller market, Countrywide has cut 4,935 jobs in September as part of its plan to cut up to 12,000 jobs.

Read mortgage about Counrywide mortgages being down at the Sun Sentinel.