Countrywide Financial Corp said on Wednesday that Bank of America Corp had made an investment of US$2 billion in the company, a deal that comes as the US' largest mortgage lender tries to weather a credit crunch that has rocked Wall Street and the mortgage industry.
The transaction was completed and funded on Wednesday, Countrywide said.
"Bank of America, with US$1.5 trillion in assets, has the largest retail banking franchise in the US and is one of the most respected companies in the world," Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide's chairman and chief executive said.
"Bank of America's investment in Countrywide represents a vote of confidence and strengthens our balance sheet, enabling us to position Countrywide for future growth and success," Mozilo said.
Under the terms of the deal, Bank of America acquired US$2 billion in the form of nonvoting, convertible preferred stock yielding 7.25 percent annually, Countrywide said.
The shares can be converted into common shares of Countrywide at US$18 per share, with certain restrictions, Countrywide said.
Countrywide shares jumped jumped more than 20 percent to US$26.25 in after-hours trading. Before Countrywide's announcement, the shares had closed the regular session up US$0.03 at US$21.82.
Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America's chairman and CEO, said in the statement that turmoil in the stock market has led some to underestimate the value in Countrywide's operations and assets.
"This investment reflects our confidence in their business and recognizes the importance of the company in providing home financing across the country," Lewis said.
Countrywide said on Thursday last week it had borrowed US$11.5 billion from several dozen banks so it could keep making home loans.
Shares of Bank of America, which rose US$0.35 in regular trading on Wednesday to US$51.65, gained another 1.8 percent to US$52.60 in after-hours trading.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary