CFC Countrywide Financial Corp

Direct grants and investments part of companies' efforts to preserve neighborhoods and help families stay in homes CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America and Countrywide Financial Corporation today provided additional details regarding the $35 million neighborhood preservation and foreclosure prevention package announced last week in Chicago. The commitment includes foreclosure prevention efforts by both financial institutions. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050720/CLW086LOGO-b ) The package, which is comprised of both grants and low-cost loan/ investments in nonprofit organizations, addresses the nation's ongoing mortgage foreclosure crisis and will complement efforts undertaken by the U.S. government and other housing agencies, such as the $180 million allocation from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to NeighborWorks(R) America to boost the capacity of both national and local nonprofits engaged in foreclosure prevention and mitigation activities. "Foreclosures have devastating social and economic consequences on families and communities," said Andrew D. Plepler, president, Bank of America Charitable Foundation. "Both Bank of America and Countrywide recognize that we have a shared responsibility to strengthen our neighborhoods by helping individuals and families keep their homes. We are pleased to do our part to address this ongoing crisis." The Bank of America neighborhood preservation and foreclosure prevention package includes: - $10 million in direct grants from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to enhance the capabilities of national and local nonprofit organizations focused on foreclosure prevention counseling and mitigation. Estimates indicate at least 40,500 people will receive counseling or other support services as a result of these grants. - $15 million in program related investments (PRI), a long-term, repayable loan/investment offered at below-market interest rates to help nonprofit organizations preserve affordable housing and rental units in deeply impacted cities by acquiring and redeploying foreclosed properties. - $5 million in unallocated grants to address future needs, including counseling and property disposition efforts. Countrywide, in conjunction with its community partners, has allocated $5 million for neighborhood stabilization and foreclosure prevention through 2008. Under the program, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation has already allocated $10 million in direct grants. National grant recipients will utilize funds to support their local affiliates in cities across the U.S., as well as develop and expand programs to further assist their constituents. The funding will be used to help these organizations conduct outreach to distressed homeowners through the creation of hotlines, foreclosure prevention and mitigation training for counselors, expanded community outreach and staffing increases. National grant recipients include: - ACORN Housing Corporation (Chicago) - $2 million - Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta (Atlanta) - $500,000 - Housing Partnership Network (Boston) - $200,000 - National Community Reinvestment Coalition (Washington, DC) - $500,000 - National Foundation for Credit Counseling (Silver Spring, MD) - $250,000 - Homeownership Preservation Foundation (Minneapolis) - $250,000 - National Urban League (New York) - $300,000 - NeighborWorks(R) America (Washington, DC) - $1 million More than $4 million in local grants have been allocated to nonprofit organizations in states that have been disproportionately impacted by the foreclosure crisis. Those states include Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New York and Texas. "Bank of America and Countrywide are taking a strong leadership role in addressing this ongoing crisis, and I commend them for contributing to the solution," said Ken Wade, CEO, NeighborWorks(R) America. "Homeowners facing foreclosure often have to turn to nonprofit organizations, like NeighborWorks(R) and our partners, for assistance. I am pleased so many groups will have additional resources to perform their critical work thanks to the generous contributions of Bank of America and Countrywide." Both Bank of America and Countrywide are founding members of HOPE NOW, an alliance between counselors, mortgage market participants and mortgage servicers to create a unified, coordinated plan to reach and help as many homeowners as possible. Data from HOPE NOW indicates that from July 2007 through February 2008, mortgage servicers provided loan workouts that enabled about 1.2 million individuals to retain their homes. Earlier this week, Bank of America made several announcements further demonstrating the company's commitment to support vibrant and healthy communities. Beginning in 2009, Bank of America will embark on a new $1.5 trillion community development lending and investing goal over the next ten years. The goal is the largest in U.S. history. Also beginning in 2009, the company will begin a new ten-year, $2 billion corporate philanthropy goal, continuing its tradition of being one of the most generous financial institutions in the world. Additionally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) notified Bank of America last week that it had received a sixth-consecutive 'outstanding' rating during its most recent Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exam. This is the highest possible acknowledgement from the OCC, and covered a 3-year assessment period between 2004 - 2006. Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America will embark in 2009 on a new, ten-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than $200 million in 2007, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions. Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence" under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Through Team Bank of America, bank associate volunteers contributed more than 650,000 hours in 2007 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation. About Countrywide Founded in 1969, Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE:CFC) is a diversified financial services provider. Through its family of companies, Countrywide originates, purchases, securitizes, sells, and services residential and commercial loans; provides loan closing services such as credit reports, appraisals and flood determinations; offers banking services which include depository and home loan products; conducts fixed income securities underwriting and trading activities; provides property, life and casualty insurance; and manages a captive mortgage reinsurance company. http://www.bankofamerica.com/ http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050720/CLW086LOGO-b http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Bank of America CONTACT: Britney Sheehan, Bank of America, +1-305-445-4130, Web site: http://www.bankofamerica.com/ http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation

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