Countrywide Financial Mortgage Banking vs Bankings

Our Mortgage Banking Segment produces mortgage loans through a variety of channels on a national scale. The mortgage loans we produce in this segment are generally sold into the secondary mortgage market, primarily in the form of securities, and to a lesser extent in the form of loans. We typically perform the ongoing servicing functions related to the mortgage loans that we produce. We also provide various loan closing services such as escrow, flood determination and appraisal. Historically, mortgage banking loan production has occurred in Countrywide Home Loans ("CHL"). Over the past several years, we have been transitioning this production to our bank subsidiary, Countrywide Bank, FSB ("Countrywide Bank" or the "Bank"). As of December 31, 2007, over 90% of our monthly mortgage loan production occurred in Countrywide Bank. Effective January 1, 2008, our production channels have moved into the Bank, completing the migration of substantially all of our loan production activities from CHL to the Bank. The mortgage loan production, the related balance sheet and the income relating to the holding and sale of these loans is included in our Mortgage Banking Segment regardless of whether the activity occurred in CHL or Countrywide Bank. We group the activities of our Mortgage Banking Segment into three business sectors—Loan Production, Loan Servicing and Loan Closing Services. Banking Operations Our Banking Operations primarily fund and purchase mortgage loans and home equity loans for investment purposes. The majority of these loans are sourced through our production channels. For liquidity and asset-liability management purposes, we also invest in securities such as collateralized mortgage obligations and agency MBS. Banking Operations activities provide the Company with an expanded product menu, lower cost funding sources and opportunities for a stable source of revenue in the form of net interest income. Asset growth is funded by the Bank's liability base. The Bank obtains retail deposits, primarily certificates of deposit, through 194 financial centers (163 of which are located in CHL's retail branch offices) as of December 31, 2007, call centers and the Internet. Countrywide Bank also offers deposit accounts through deposit brokers (generally, well-recognized financial intermediaries). A significant portion of Countrywide Bank's deposit liabilities are comprised of custodial funds that relate to our loan servicing portfolio. Countrywide Bank also offers commercial deposit accounts to title and mortgage insurance companies through a commercial banking unit. The Bank also borrows funds from other sources to supplement its deposit liabilities, including mortgage loan-secured borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank ("FHLB") of Atlanta and repurchase agreements secured by loans and securities. Countrywide Bank acts as a mortgage document custodian, primarily for our mortgage banking operations. As a document custodian, we verify, maintain and release collateral for issuers, servicers, sellers and purchasers of debt securitizations. We also provide other services, including safekeeping, collateral review/certification, collateral releases and customer reporting.