The Street Buzz

Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. home-mortgage lender, is expected to announce plans to reduce its work force over the next three months by 10,000 to 12,000 jobs, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday on its website.

Troubled subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. plans to slash as many as 12,000 jobs over the next three months, according to company statement released late Friday.

The cuts, which represent 20 percent of its work force, follow a reduction of 500 jobs at its subprime lending unit in August and another 900 jobs mostly from its mortgage production divisions Wednesday. The company says the new round of cuts may be smaller than expected if the market improves.

Countrywide, which is the largest U.S. mortgage lender, says it’s shifting its focus to relatively conservative loans. These would be held as long-term investments in its savings bank unit or sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, government sponsored entities. Countrywide is also seeking loan insurance from the Federal Housing Administration.

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