Somebody is losing their appetite

Somebody is losing their appetite for risky loans Countrywide Financial Corp. reported its December results today, and the good news for those looking for evidence that the housing market is picking up was that loan applications were up 11 percent from the same month a year ago.

The fourth quarter was Countrywide's best in 2006, with $122 billion in loans funded. What's interesting is that Countrywide posted those numbers even while making big cuts in subprime and pay-option loan fundings. Countrywide funded $10 billion in pay-option loans in the fourth quarter -- a 58 percent drop from the $24 billion posted in the same quarter 2005. Subprime loan fundings were also down 17 percent to $10 billion.
--Matt Carter, Inman News

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