UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K (Mark One) [ X ] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 [FEE REQUIRED] For the fiscal year ended February 28, 1998 OR [ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 NO FEE REQUIRED For the transition period from to Commission file number: 1-8422 COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 13 - 2641992 (State of other jurisdiction (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) of incorporation) 4500 Park Granada, Calabasas, CA 91302 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (818) 225-3000 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock, $.05 Par Value New York Stock Exchange Pacific Stock Exchange Preferred Stock Purchase Rights New York Stock Exchange Pacific Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes X No -------------- ------------ Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. [ ] As of May 1, 1998, there were 110,150,548 shares of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. Common Stock, $.05 par value, outstanding. Based on the closing price for shares of Common Stock on that date, the aggregate market value of Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $5,124,908,000. For the purposes of the foregoing calculation only, all directors and executive officers of the registrant have been deemed affiliates. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Proxy Statement for the 1998 Annual Meeting PART I ITEM 1. BUSINESS A. General Founded in 1969, Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. (the "Company" or "CCI") is a holding company which, through its principal subsidiary, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. ("CHL"), is engaged primarily in the mortgage banking business, and as such originates, purchases, sells and services mortgage loans. The Company's mortgage loans are principally prime credit quality first-lien mortgage loans secured by single- (one-to-four) family residences ("prime credit quality first mortgages"). The Company also offers home equity loans both in conjunction with newly produced prime credit quality first mortgages and as a separate product. In addition, the Company offers sub-prime credit quality first-lien single-family mortgage loans ("sub-prime loans"). The Company, through its other wholly-owned subsidiaries, offers products and services complementary to its mortgage banking business. See "Business-Other Operations." Unless the context otherwise requires, references to the "Company" herein shall be deemed to refer to the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. This Annual Report on Form 10-K may contain forward-looking statements which reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including those identified below, which could cause future results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "should" and other expressions which indicate future events and trends identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The following factors, among others, could cause future results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated: (1) the level of demand for mortgage credit, which is affected by such external factors as the level of interest rates, the strength of the various segments of the economy and demographics of the Company's lending markets; (2) the direction of interest rates; (3) the relationship between mortgage interest rates and the cost of funds; (4) federal and state regulation of the Company's mortgage banking operations; and (5) competition within the mortgage banking industry. B. Mortgage Banking Operations The principal sources of revenue from the Company's mortgage banking business are: (i) loan origination fees; (ii) gains from the sale of loans, if any; (iii) interest earned on mortgage loans during the period that they are held by the Company pending sale, net of interest paid on funds borrowed to finance such mortgage loans; (iv) loan servicing fees; and (v) interest benefit derived from the custodial balances associated with the Company's servicing portfolio. Loan Production The Company originates and purchases conventional mortgage loans, mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration ("FHA"), mortgage loans partially guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA"), home equity loans and sub-prime loans. A majority of the conventional loans are conforming loans which qualify for inclusion in guarantee programs sponsored by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae") or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac"). The remainder of the conventional loans are non-conforming loans (i.e., jumbo loans with an original balance in excess of $227,150 or other loans that do not meet Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidelines). As part of its mortgage banking activities, the Company makes conventional loans generally with original balances of up to $1 million. The following table sets forth the number and dollar amount of the Company's prime credit quality first mortgage, home equity and sub-prime loan production for the periods indicated. ----------------------------- ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary of the Company's Prime Mortgage, (Dollar amounts in millions, Home Equity and Sub-prime Loan Production except average loan amount) Year Ended February 28(29), ----------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ---- 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 ----------------------------- ---- ------------- -- ------------- --- ----------- -- ------------ -- ------------ Conventional Loans Number of Loans 231,595 190,250 191,534 175,823 315,699 Volume of Loans $29,887.5 $22,676.2 $21,883.4 $20,958.7 $46,473.4 Percent of Total Volume 61.3% 60.0% 63.3% 75.2% 88.6% FHA/VA Loans Number of Loans 162,360 143,587 125,127 72,365 67,154 Volume of Loans $15,869.8 $13,657.1 $12,259.3 $6,808.3 $5,985.5 Percent of Total Volume 32.5% 36.1% 35.5% 24.4% 11.4% Home Equity Loans Number of Loans 45,052 20,053 7,986 2,147 - Volume of Loans $1,462.5 $613.2 $220.8 $99.2 - Percent of Total Volume 3.0% 1.6% 0.6% 0.4% - Sub-prime Loans Number of Loans 16,360 9,161 1,941 - - Volume of Loans $1,551.9 $864.3 $220.2 - - Percent of Total Volume 3.2% 2.3% 0.6% - - Total Loans Number of Loans 455,367 363,051 326,588 250,335 382,853 Volume of Loans $48,771.7 $37,810.8 $34,583.7 $27,866.2 $52,458.9 Average Loan Amount $107,000 $104,000 $106,000 $111,000 $137,000 ----------------------------- ---- ------------- -- ------------- --- ----------- -- ------------ -- ------------ The increase in the number and dollar amount of conventional loans produced in the year ended February 28, 1998 ("Fiscal 1998") from those produced in the years ended February 28 (29), 1997 ("Fiscal 1997") and 1996 ("Fiscal 1996") was primarily due to generally lower interest rates that prevailed during most of the year and the expansion of the Company's consumer markets and wholesale branch networks. The increase in the number and dollar amount of FHA and VA loans produced in the year ended February 28, 1998 from those produced in the years ended February 28(29), 1997 and 1996 was attributable in part to increased mortgage market activity. Production of the Company's home equity and sub-prime products also increased from those produced in the years ended February 28 (29), 1997 and 1996. This increase was attributable primarily to the Company's efforts to grow its production of these products due to the high returns they generate and growth opportunities that exist in the market. For the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, jumbo loans represented 20%, 12% and 6%, respectively, of the Company's total volume of mortgage loans produced. For the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, adjustable-rate mortgage loans ("ARMs") comprised approximately 23%, 26% and 22%, respectively, of the Company's total volume of mortgage loans produced. The decrease in the Company's percentage of ARM production from Fiscal 1997 to Fiscal 1998 was primarily caused by the lower interest rate environment that prevailed through most of Fiscal 1998 compared to Fiscal 1997. For the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, refinancing activity represented 41%, 33% and 34%, respectively, of the Company's total volume of mortgage loans produced. The increase in the percentage of refinance loans for the current year is indicative of the lower interest rate environment experienced during Fiscal 1998. The Company produces mortgage loans through three separate divisions of Countrywide Home Loans and another subsidiary, Full Spectrum Lending, Inc. (the "Divisions"). The Company maintains a staff of central office quality control personnel that performs audits of the loan production of the Divisions on a regular basis. In addition, the Divisions have implemented various procedures to control the quality of loans produced, as described below. The Company believes that its use of technology, benefits derived from economies of scale and a noncommissioned sales force allow it to produce loans at a low cost relative to its competition. Consumer Markets Division The Company's Consumer Markets Division (the "Consumer Markets Division") originates prime credit quality first mortgage, home equity and sub-prime loans using direct contact with consumers through its nationwide network of retail branch offices, its telemarketing systems and its site on the World Wide Web. As of February 28, 1998, the Company had 328 Consumer Markets Division branch offices, two satellite offices and two processing support centers located in 44 states and the District of Columbia. The Consumer Markets Division's branch offices are each staffed typically by five employees and connected to the Company's central office by a computer network. In addition, the Company operates three telemarketing centers which solicit potential borrowers and receive telephone calls placed by potential borrowers primarily in response to print or broadcast advertising. The loan counselors employed in the telemarketing centers provide information and accept loan pre-applications, which are then forwarded to either a branch office or a regional processing support center for processing and funding. Business is also solicited through advertising, participation of branch management in local real estate related business functions and extensive use of direct mailings to borrowers, real estate brokers and builders. Consumer Markets Division personnel are not paid a commission on sales; however, they are paid a bonus based on various factors, including branch profitability. The Company believes that this approach allows it to originate high-quality loans at a comparatively low cost. The Consumer Markets Division uses continuous quality control audits of loans originated within each branch by branch management and quality control personnel to monitor compliance with the Company's underwriting criteria. The following table sets forth the number and dollar amount of the Consumer Markets Division's prime credit quality first mortgage, home equity and sub-prime loan production for the periods indicated. ----------------------------- ---------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Summary of the Consumer Markets Division's Prime Mortgage, (Dollar amounts in millions, Home Equity and Sub-prime Loan Production except average loan amount) Year Ended February 28(29), ----------------------------- -- ------------- --- ------------ -- ------------ --- ------------ -- ------------- 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 ----------------------------- -- ------------- --- ------------ -- ------------ --- ------------ -- ------------- Conventional Loans Number of Loans 67,850 43,261 47,260 48,772 73,249 Volume of Loans $8,377.7 $5,145.3 $5,271.8 $5,442.2 $9,264.8 Percent of Total Volume 62.8% 63.7% 70.7% 77.0% 80.2% FHA/VA Loans Number of Loans 43,238 27,746 22,829 19,060 26,418 Volume of Loans $4,114.0 $2,514.3 $2,025.4 $1,612.1 $2,282.3 Percent of Total Volume 30.8% 31.2% 27.1% 22.8% 19.8% Home Equity Loans Number of Loans 27,198 14,028 6,000 297 - Volume of Loans $784.3 $384.7 $160.9 $11.4 - Percent of Total Volume 5.9% 4.8% 2.2% 0.2% - Sub-prime Loans Number of Loans 737 303 - - - Volume of Loans $62.5 $27.0 - - - Percent of Total Volume 0.5% 0.3% - - - Total Loans Number of Loans 139,023 85,338 76,089 68,129 99,667 Volume of Loans $13,338.5 $8,071.3 $7,458.1 $7,065.7 $11,547.1 Average Loan Amount $96,000 $95,000 $98,000 $104,000 $116,000 ----------------------------- -- ------------- --- ------------ -- ------------ --- ------------ -- ------------- Wholesale Division The Company's Wholesale Division (the "Wholesale Division"), produces prime credit quality first mortgage, home equity and sub-prime loans through mortgage loan brokers and other financial intermediaries. As of February 28, 1998, the Wholesale Division operated 75 loan centers and 14 regional support centers in various parts of the United States. Prime credit quality first mortgage loans produced by the Wholesale Division comply with the Company's general underwriting criteria for loans originated through the Consumer Markets Division, and each such loan is approved by one of the Company's loan underwriters. Sub-prime loans are underwritten centrally by a specialized underwriting group and comply with the Company's underwriting criteria for such loans. In addition, quality control personnel review loans for compliance with the Company's underwriting criteria. Approximately 13,900 mortgage brokers qualify to participate in the Wholesale Division's loan delivery program. Mortgage loan brokers qualify to participate in the Wholesale Division's program only after a review by the Company's management of their reputation and mortgage lending expertise, including a review of their references and financial statements. The following table sets forth the number and dollar amount of the Wholesale Division's prime credit quality first mortgage, home equity and sub-prime loan production for the periods indicated. ----------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary of the Wholesale Division's Prime Mortgage, (Dollar amounts in millions, Home Equity and Sub-prime Loan Production except average loan amount) Year Ended February 28(29), ----------------------------- --- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------ -- ------------ -- ----------- 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 ----------------------------- --- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------ -- ------------ -- ----------- Conventional Loans Number of Loans 87,391 50,570 59,670 65,713 130,937 Volume of Loans $11,860.9 $6,187.8 $6,766.9 $7,790.0 $21,271.0 Percent of Total Volume 75.4% 73.4% 84.0% 91.6% 98.9% FHA/VA Loans Number of Loans 23,641 12,505 10,448 6,239 2,700 Volume of Loans $2,362.3 $1,190.0 $1,016.2 $626.3 $244.4 Percent of Total Volume 15.0% 14.1% 12.6% 7.4% 1.1% Home Equity Loans Number of Loans 11,073 6,017 1,937 1,836 - Volume of Loans $419.4 $227.7 $57.5 $86.9 - Percent of Total Volume 2.7% 2.7% 0.7% 1.0% - Sub-prime Loans Number of Loans 11,721 8,568 1,941 - - Volume of Loans $1,088.1 $823.9 $220.2 - - Percent of Total Volume 6.9% 9.8% 2.7% - - Total Loans Number of Loans 133,826 77,660 73,996 73,788 133,637 Volume of Loans $15,730.7 $8,429.4 $8,060.8 $8,503.2 $21,515.4 Average Loan Amount $118,000 $109,000 $109,000 $115,000 $161,000 ----------------------------- --- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------ -- ------------ -- ----------- Correspondent Division Through its network of correspondent offices (the "Correspondent Division"), the Company purchases loans from other mortgage bankers, commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions and other financial intermediaries ("correspondents"). The Company's correspondent offices are located in Pasadena, California; Dallas, Texas and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Eleven hundred financial intermediaries serving all 50 states and Guam are eligible to participate in this program. Financial intermediaries qualify to participate in the Correspondent Division's program after a review by the Company's management of the reputation, financial strength and mortgage lending expertise of such institutions, including a review of their references and financial statements. In addition, all sellers are reaffirmed annually for continuation in the program based upon a review of their current audited financial statements and their historical production volumes and quality. Loans purchased by the Company through the Correspondent Division comply with the Company's general underwriting criteria for loans that it originates through the Consumer Markets Division. The division has monitoring systems in place to ensure that conventional loans of certain sellers and loans of certain credit quality grades are reviewed by a Company underwriter prior to purchase. Under this review process, approximately 39% of all conventional loans purchased for the year ended February 28, 1998 were reviewed by Company underwriters. An additional 11% of the conventional loans purchased was underwritten by contract underwriters whose work is insured against loss or through underwriting systems endorsed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To provide additional assurance against losses, the purchase agreement signed by all its correspondents provides the Company with recourse to the correspondent in the event of such occurrences as fraud or misrepresentation in the origination process or a loan's failure to meet eligibility requirements at the time the Company purchased the loan. The following table sets forth the number and dollar amount of the Correspondent Division's prime credit quality first mortgage, home equity and sub-prime loan production for the periods indicated. ----------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Summary of the Correspondent Division's Prime Mortgage, (Dollar amounts in millions, Home Equity and Sub-prime Loan Production except average loan amount) Year Ended February 28(29), ----------------------------- - -------------- -- ------------ --- ------------ -- ------------ -- ------------- 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 ----------------------------- - -------------- -- ------------ --- ------------ -- ------------ -- ------------- Conventional Loans Number of Loans 76,354 96,419 84,604 61,338 111,513 Volume of Loans $9,648.9 $11,343.1 $9,844.7 $7,726.5 $15,937.6 Percent of Total Volume 49.3% 53.2% 51.7% 62.8% 82.2% FHA/VA Loans Number of Loans 95,481 103,336 91,850 47,066 38,036 Volume of Loans $9,393.5 $9,952.8 $9,217.7 $4,570.0 $3,458.8 Percent of Total Volume 48.0% 46.7% 48.3% 37.2% 17.8% Home Equity Loans Number of Loans 6,635 8 49 14 - Volume of Loans $252.4 $0.8 $2.4 $0.8 - Percent of Total Volume 1.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% - Sub-prime Loans Number of Loans 2,457 290 - - - Volume of Loans $267.5 $13.4 - - - Percent of Total Volume 1.4% 0.1% - - - Total Loans Number of Loans 180,927 200,053 176,503 108,418 149,549 Volume of Loans $19,562.3 $21,310.1 $19,064.8 $12,297.3 $19,396.4 Average Loan Amount $108,000 $107,000 $108,000 $113,000 $130,000 ----------------------------- - -------------- -- ------------ --- ------------ -- ------------ -- ------------- Full Spectrum Lending, Inc. Full Spectrum Lending, Inc. ("FSLI"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, which commenced operations on September 1, 1997, originates sub-prime and home equity loans. FSLI operates a nationwide network of 24 retail branch offices located in 14 states in addition to two national sales centers. The Company's branch offices are typically 2,500 square feet and have between five and seven employees. Business is obtained primarily through direct mailings to borrowers, outbound telemarketing and referrals from other Divisions of the Company. FSLI personnel are not paid a commission on sales, but rather a bonus based on various factors, including branch profitability. Each loan approved by FSLI is reviewed by the Company's centralized underwriting unit to ensure that standardized underwriting guidelines are met. In addition, the Company performs quality control audits of the origination process on a continuous basis. The following table sets forth the number and dollar amount of FSLI's home equity and sub-prime loan production for the periods indicated. ----------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Summary of the Full Spectrum Lending's (Dollar amounts in millions, Home Equity and Sub-prime Loan Production except average loan amount) Year Ended February 28(29), ----------------------------- - -------------- -- ------------ --- ------------ -- ------------ -- ------------- 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 ----------------------------- - -------------- -- ------------ --- ------------ -- ------------ -- ------------- Home Equity Loans Number of Loans 146 - - - - Volume of Loans $6.4 - - - - Percent of Total Volume 4.6% - - - - Sub-prime Loans Number of Loans 1,445 - - - - Volume of Loans $133.8 - - - - Percent of Total Volume 95.4% - - - - Total Loans Number of Loans 1,591 - - - - Volume of Loans $140.2 - - - - Average Loan Amount $88,000 - - - - ----------------------------- - -------------- -- ------------ --- ------------ -- ------------ -- ------------- Fair Lending Programs In conjunction with fair lending initiatives undertaken by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and promoted by various government agencies including the Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD"), the Company has established affordable home loan and fair lending programs for low- and moderate-income and designated minority borrowers. These programs offer more flexible underwriting guide lines (consistent with those guidelines adopted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) than historical industry standards, thereby enabling more people to qualify for home loans than had qualified under such historical guidelines. Highlights of these flexible guidelines include a lower down payment requirement, more liberal guidelines in areas such as credit and employment history, less income required to qualify and no cash reserve requirements at the date of funding. House America(R) is the Company's affordable home loan program for low- and moderate-income borrowers, offering loans that are eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. During the years ended February 28, 1998 and 1997, the Company produced approximately $400 million and $600 million, respectively, of mortgage loans under this program. The decline in House America production from the year ended February 28, 1997 to the year ended February 28, 1998, was the result of an improvement in the relative attractiveness of other loan products as an alternative means of providing homeownership to low- and moderate-income borrowers. House America personnel work with all of the Company's production Divisions to help properly implement the flexible underwriting guidelines. In addition, an integral part of the program is the House America Counseling Center, a free educational service, which can provide consumers with a home buyer's educational program, pre-qualify them for a loan or provide a customized budget plan to help consumers obtain their goal of home ownership. To assist a broad spectrum of consumers, counselors are bilingual and work with consumers for up to one year, providing guidance on a regular basis via phone and mail. The Company also organizes and participates in local home buyer fairs across the country. At these fairs, branch personnel and Counseling Center counselors discuss various loan programs, provide free pre-qualifications and distribute credit counseling and home buyer education videos and workbooks. The Company's affordable housing outreach also includes participation in 150 local mortgage revenue bond programs for first-time home buyers. Federal law allows local government agencies to sell tax exempt bonds to purchase mortgages securing loans made to first-time, low-income home buyers. These programs thereby provide for mortgages with fixed interest rates that are lower than then-current market rates. The Company also participates in over 350 Community Seconds Programs for first time home buyers and low- and moderate-income consumers. These programs are offered by city agencies and municipalities to assist with downpayment and closing costs. In addition, a selection of applications from certain designated minority and other borrowers that are initially recommended for denial within the Company's Consumer Markets Division is forwarded for an additional review by a manager of the Company to insure that denial is appropriate. The application of more flexible underwriting guidelines may carry a risk of increased delinquencies. However, because the loans in the Company's portfolio are generally serviced on a non-recourse basis, the exposure to credit loss resulting from increased delinquency rates is substantially limited. Further, related late charge income has historically been sufficient to offset incremental servicing expenses resulting from an increased delinquency rate. Loan Underwriting The Company's guidelines for underwriting FHA-insured and VA-guaranteed loans comply with the criteria established by such entities. The Company's guidelines for underwriting conventional conforming loans comply with the underwriting criteria employed by Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac. The Company's underwriting guidelines and property standards for conventional non-conforming loans are based on the underwriting standards employed by private investors for such loans. In addition, conventional loans having a loan to value ratio greater than 80% at origination, which are originated or purchased by the Company, are covered by private mortgage insurance (which may be paid by the borrower or the lender). In conjunction with fair lending initiatives undertaken by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Company has established affordable home loan programs for low- and moderate-income borrowers offering more flexible underwriting guidelines than historical industry standards. See "Business-Mortgage Banking Operations - Fair Lending Programs". The following describes the general underwriting criteria taken into consideration by the Company in determining whether to approve a prime credit quality first mortgage loan application. Borrowers who do not qualify for a prime credit quality first mortgage may qualify for a sub-prime loan which generally have more flexible underwriting criteria. Employment and Income Under most loan programs, applicants must exhibit the ability to generate income on a regular basis in order to meet the housing payments relating to the loan as well as any other debts they may have. The nature of the information which a borrower is required to disclose and whether such information is verified depends, in part, on the documentation program used in the origination process. Evidence of employment and income is obtained through written verification of employment with the current and prior employer(s) or by obtaining a recent pay stub and W-2 forms. Self-employed applicants are generally required to provide income tax returns, financial statements or other documentation to verify income. Sources of income to be considered include salary, bonus, overtime, commissions, retirement benefits, notes receivable, interest, dividends, unemployment benefits and rental income. The underwriter generally verifies the information contained in the application relating to employment, income, assets or mortgages. Debt-to-Income Ratios Generally, an applicant's monthly housing expense (loan payment, real estate taxes, hazard insurance and homeowner association dues, if applicable) should be 25% to 28% of monthly gross income. Total fixed monthly obligations (housing expense plus other obligations such as car loans, credit card payments, etc.) generally should be 33% to 36% of monthly gross income. Other areas of financial strength, such as equity in the property, large cash reserves or a history of meeting prior home mortgage or rental obligations are considered to be compensating factors and may result in an adjustment of these ratio limitations. Credit History An applicant's credit history is examined for both favorable and unfavorable occurrences. An applicant who has made payments on outstanding or previous credit obligations according to the contractual terms may be considered favorably. Unfavorable items such as slow payment records, legal actions, judgments, bankruptcy, liens, foreclosure or garnishments are discussed with the applicant in order to determine the reasons for the unfavorable rating. In some instances, the applicant may explain the reasons for these ratings to indicate there were isolated extenuating circumstances beyond the applicant's control, which would mitigate the effect of such unfavorable items on the credit decision. Property Under most loan programs, the property's market value and physical condition as compared to the value of similar properties in the area is assessed to ensure that the property provides adequate collateral for the loan. Generally, properties are appraised by licensed real estate appraisers for loan transactions involving purchases, rate-and-term refinances or cash-out refinances. Automated or streamlined appraisal systems may also be used to confirm property values on some loan programs. Maximum Indebtedness to Appraised Value Generally, the maximum amount the Company will lend is 95% of the appraised value of the property and this percentage may be lower depending on certain factors such as the principal balance of the loan. Loan amounts in excess of 80% of the appraised value require private mortgage insurance to protect against foreclosure loss. Funds for Closing Generally, applicants are required to have sufficient funds of their own to meet the down payment requirement. Funds for closing costs may come from the applicant or may be a gift from a family member. Certain loan programs require the applicant to have sufficient funds for a portion of the down payment and the remaining funds may be provided by a gift or an unsecured loan from a municipality or a non-profit organization. Certain programs require the applicant to have cash reserves after closing. Geographic Distribution The following table sets forth the geographic distribution of the Company's prime credit quality first mortgage, home equity and sub-prime loan production for the year ended February 28, 1998. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Geographic Distribution of the Company's Prime Mortgage, Home Equity and Sub-prime Loan Production --- ----------------------------- -- ------------------ -- ----------------- -- ----------------- --- Percentage of Number Principal Total Dollar (Dollar amounts in of Loans Amount Amount millions) --- ----------------------------- -- ------------------ -- ----------------- -- ----------------- --- California 92,269 $12,566.4 25.8% Michigan 23,779 2,424.3 5.0% Texas 24,802 2,307.9 4.7% Illinois 19,169 2,301.7 4.7% Colorado 18,791 2,238.0 4.6% Florida 25,427 2,137.6 4.4% Washington 14,914 1,638.5 3.4% Arizona 15,916 1,563.0 3.2% Ohio 16,647 1,422.5 2.9% Maryland 10,989 1,300.3 2.7% Massachusetts 9,787 1,258.8 2.6% Georgia 11,822 1,158.0 2.4% Virginia 10,373 1,146.1 2.3% Utah 9,655 1,069.0 2.2% Others (1) 151,027 14,239.6 29.1% ------------------ ----------------- ----------------- 455,367 $48,771.7 100.0% ================== ================= ================= --- ----------------------------- -- ------------------ -- ----------------- -- ----------------- --- (1) No other state constitutes more than 2.0% of the total dollar amount of loan production. California mortgage loan production as a percentage of total mortgage loan production (measured by principal balance) for the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996 was 26%, 25% and 31%, respectively. Loan production within California is geographically dispersed, which minimizes dependence on any individual local economy. The decline in the percentage of the Company's mortgage loan production in California during the three year period ended February 28, 1998 is the result of implementing the Company's strategy to expand production capacity and market share outside of California. At February 28, 1998, 83% of the Consumer Markets Division branch offices, Wholesale Division loan centers and FSLI branches were located outside of California. The following table sets forth the distribution by county of the Company's California loan production for the year ended February 28, 1998. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distribution by County of the Company's California Loan Production --- ----------------------------- -- ------------------ -- ----------------- -- ------------------ -- Percentage of Number Principal Total Dollar (Dollar amounts in of Loans Amount Amount millions) --- ----------------------------- -- ------------------ -- ----------------- -- ------------------ -- Los Angeles 22,923 $ 3,322.3 26.4% Orange 9,969 1,494.9 11.9% San Diego 7,280 1,046.2 8.3% Santa Clara 3,726 709.4 5.7% Riverside 5,772 633.6 5.0% Others (1) 42,599 5,360.0 42.7% ------------------ ----------------- ------------------ 92,269 $12,566.4 100.0% ================== ================= ================== --- ----------------------------- -- ------------------ -- ----------------- -- ------------------ -- (1) No other county in California constitutes more than 5.0% of the total dollar amount of California loan production. Sale of Loans As a mortgage banker, the Company customarily sells substantially all loans that it originates or purchases. Substantially all prime credit quality first mortgage loans sold by the Company are sold without recourse, subject in the case of VA loans to the limits of the VA guaranty described below. Conforming conventional loans may be pooled by the Company and exchanged for securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. These securities are then sold to national or regional broker-dealers. Loans securitized through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac are sold on a non-recourse basis whereby foreclosure losses are generally the responsibility of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and not the Company. The Company packages substantially all of its FHA-insured and VA-guaranteed mortgage loans into pools of loans. It sells these pools in the form of modified pass-through mortgage-backed securities ("MBS") guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association ("Ginnie Mae") to national or regional broker-dealers. With respect to loans securitized through Ginnie Mae programs, the Company is insured against foreclosure loss by the FHA or partially guaranteed against foreclosure loss by the VA (at present, generally 25% to 50% of the loan, up to a maximum amount of $50,750, depending upon the amount of the loan). For the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, the aggregate loss experience of the Company on VA loans in excess of the VA guaranty was approximately $18.5 million, $9.3 million and $3.8 million, respectively. In the opinion of management, the losses on VA loans increased from the year ended February 28, 1997 to the year ended February 28, 1998 primarily due to the aging of the VA loan servicing portfolio and declines in values of properties securing VA loans, particularly in California. To guarantee timely and full payment of principal and interest on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae securities and to transfer the credit risk of the loans, the Company pays guarantee fees to these agencies. The Company consistently sells its non-conforming conventional loan production to large buyers in the secondary market (which can include national or regional broker-dealers) on a non-recourse basis. These loans can be sold either on a whole-loan basis or in the form of pools backing securities which are not guaranteed by any governmental instrumentality but which generally have the benefit of some form of credit enhancement, such as insurance, letters of credit, payment guarantees or senior/subordinated structures. Home equity and sub-prime loans may be sold on a whole-loan basis or securitized. In connection with the securitization of its home equity and sub-prime loans, the Company retains a subordinated residual interest in the trust which acquires the loans. As a result of the retention of this residual interest, the Company has exposure to credit losses on the loans. At February 28, 1998, the Company had investments in such subordinated residual interests amounting to $251 million, which represents the maximum exposure to credit losses on the securitized home equity and sub-prime loans. In connection with the sales and exchange of loans, the Company makes customary representations and warranties relating to, among other things, compliance with laws and origination practices. The Company has potential liability under these representations. In the event of a breach of the representations and warranties, the Company may be required to repurchase a mortgage loan. In such event, any subsequent loss on the mortgage loan may be borne by the Company. In order to offset the risk that a change in interest rates will result in a decrease in the value of the Company's current mortgage loan inventory or its commitments to purchase or originate mortgage loans ("Committed Pipeline"), the Company enters into hedging transactions. The Company's hedging policies generally require that substantially all of the Company's inventory of conforming and government loans and the maximum portion of its Committed Pipeline that the Company believes may close be hedged with forward contracts for the delivery of MBS or options on MBS. The inventory is then used to form the MBS that will fill the forward delivery contracts and exercised options. The Company hedges its inventory and Committed Pipeline of jumbo mortgage loans by using whole-loan sale commitments to ultimate buyers or by using temporary "cross hedges" with sales of MBS since such loans are ultimately sold based on a market spread to MBS. As such, the Company is not exposed to significant risk nor will it derive any significant benefit from changes in interest rates on the price of the inventory, net of gains or losses of associated hedge positions. The correlation between the price performance of the inventory being hedged and the hedge instruments is very high due to the similarity of the asset and the related hedge instruments. The Company is exposed to the risk that the portion of loans from the Committed Pipeline that actually closes at the committed price is less than or more than the amount estimated to close in the event of a decline or rise in interest rates during the commitment period. The amount of loans estimated to close from the Committed Pipeline is influenced by many factors, including the composition of the Committed Pipeline, the historical portion of the Committed Pipeline that has closed given changes in interest rates and the timing of such closings. See Note I to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements. Loan Servicing The Company services on a non-recourse basis substantially all of the mortgage loans that it originates or purchases pursuant to servicing agreements with investors in the loans. In addition, the Company purchases bulk servicing contracts, also on a non-recourse basis, to service single-family residential mortgage loans originated by other lenders. Servicing contracts acquired through bulk purchases accounted for 15% of the Company's mortgage servicing portfolio as of February 28, 1998. Servicing mortgage loans includes collecting and remitting loan payments, answering customers' questions, making advances when required, accounting for principal and interest, holding custodial (impound) funds for payment of property taxes and hazard insurance, making any physical inspections of the property, counseling delinquent mortgagors, supervising foreclosures and property dispositions in the event of unremedied defaults and generally administering the loans. The Company receives a fee for servicing mortgage loans ranging generally from 1/4% to 1/2% annually on the declining principal balances of the loans. The servicing fee is collected by the Company out of monthly mortgage payments. The Company's servicing portfolio is subject to reduction by scheduled amortization or by prepayment or foreclosure of outstanding loans. In addition, the Company has sold, and may sell in the future, a portion of its portfolio of loan servicing rights to other mortgage servicers. In general, the decision to sell servicing rights or newly originated loans on a servicing-released basis is based upon management's assessment of the Company's cash requirements, the Company's debt-to-equity ratio and other significant financial ratios, the market value of servicing rights and the Company's current and future earnings objectives. Generally, it is the Company's strategy to build and retain its servicing portfolio. Loans are serviced from two facilities located in Simi Valley, California and Plano, Texas (see "Properties"). The Company has developed systems that enable it to service mortgage loans efficiently and therefore enhance earnings from its investments in servicing rights. Some of these systems are highlighted in the following paragraphs. All data elements pertaining to each individual loan are entered into the applicable automated loan system at the point of origination or acquisition. These data elements are captured and automatically transferred to the loan servicing system without manual intervention. Customer service representatives in both servicing facilities have access to on-line screens containing all pertinent data about a customer's account, thus eliminating the need to refer to paper files and shortening the average length of a customer call. The Company's telephone system controls the flow of calls to each servicing site and has a "Smart Call Routing" filter. This filter is designed to match the originating phone number to phone numbers in the Company's data base. Having identified the customer, the Company can communicate topical loan information electronically without requiring the caller to enter information. The caller can get more detailed information through an Interactive Voice Response application or can speak with a customer service representative. The Company also features an Internet site for existing customers wherein the customer can obtain current account status, history, answers to frequently asked questions and a dictionary to help the customer understand industry terminology. During Fiscal 1998, the Company converted from a quarterly statement to a monthly statement for borrowers. This allows the Company to provide personalized home loan information in a more timely manner while simultaneously providing a vehicle for the Company to market other products. The Company's high speed payment processing equipment enables the Company to deposit virtually all cash on the same day it is received, thereby maximizing cash availability. The collection department utilizes its collection management system in conjunction with its predictive dialing system to maximize and track each individual collector's performance as well as to track the success of each collection campaign. The Company tracks its foreclosure activity through its default processing system ("DPS"). DPS is a client server based application which allows each foreclosure to be assigned to a state/investor specific workflow template. The foreclosure processor is automatically guided through each function required to successfully complete a foreclosure in any state and for any investor. The Company believes that its loan servicing earnings are counter cyclical to its loan production earnings. In general, the value of the Company's servicing portfolio and the income generated therefrom improve as interest rates increase and decline when interest rates fall. Generally, in an environment of increasing interest rates, the rate of current and projected future prepayments decreases, resulting in a decreased rate of amortization and impairment of mortgage servicing rights, and a decrease in gain from servicing portfolio hedging activities. Amortization and impairment, net of servicing hedge gain, is deducted from loan administration income. An increase in interest rates also generally causes loan production (particularly refinancings) to decline. Generally, in an environment of declining interest rates, the rate of current and projected future prepayments increases, resulting in an increased rate of amortization and impairment of mortgage servicing rights. However, the Company's servicing portfolio hedging activities generally generate a gain during periods of declining interest rates. At the same time, the decline in interest rates generally contributes to high levels of loan production (particularly refinancings). The following table sets forth certain information regarding the Company's servicing portfolio of single-family mortgage loans, including loans and securities held for sale and loans subserviced for others, for the periods indicated. ---------------------------------- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Dollar amounts in millions) Year Ended February 28(29), ---------------------------------- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Composition of Servicing 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 Portfolio ----------- -- ------------ -- ----------- -- ----------- -- ------------ at Period End: FHA-Insured Mortgage Loans $ 37,241.3 $ 30,686.3 $ $ $ 9,793.7 23,206.5 17,587.5 VA-Guaranteed Mortgage Loans 14,878.7 13,446.4 10,686.2 7,454.3 3,916.0 Conventional Mortgage Loans 127,344.0 112,685.4 102,417.0 87,998.2 70,915.2 Home Equity Loans 1,656.5 689.9 204.5 31.3 - Sub-prime Loans 1,744.2 1,048.9 289.1 - - ----------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ------------ Total Servicing Portfolio $182,864.7 $158,556.9 $136,803.3 $113,071.3 $84,624.9 =========== ============ =========== =========== ------------ Beginning Servicing Portfolio $158,556.9 $136,803.3 $113,071.3 $ 84,624.9 $54,417.8 Add: Loan Production 48,771.7 37,810.8 34,583.7 27,866.2 52,458.9 Bulk Servicing and Subservicing 3,761.6 2,808.1 6,428.5 17,888.1 3,514.9 Acquired Less: Servicing Transferred (1) (110.6) (70.8) (53.5) (6,287.4) (8.1) Runoff (2) (28,114.9) (18,794.5) (17,226.7) (11,020.5) (25,758.6) =========== ============ =========== =========== ------------ Ending Servicing Portfolio $182,864.7 $158,556.9 $136,803.3 $113,071.3 $84,624.9 =========== ============ =========== =========== ------------ Delinquent Mortgage Loans and Pending Foreclosures at Period End (3): 30 days 2.68% 2.26% 2.13% 1.80% 1.82% 60 days 0.58% 0.52 0.48 0.29 0.28 90 days or more 0.65% 0.66 0.59 0.42 0.39 ----------- ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Total Delinquencies 3.91% 3.44% 3.20% 2.51% 2.49% =========== =========== ============ =========== ------------ Foreclosures Pending 0.45% 0.71% 0.49% 0.29% 0.29% ----------- ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ ---------------------------------- -- ----------- -- ----------- -- ------------ -- ----------- -- ------------ (1) When servicing rights are sold from the servicing portfolio the Company generally subservices such loans from the sales contract date to the transfer date. (2) Runoff refers to scheduled principal repayments on loans and unscheduled prepayments (partial prepayments or total prepayments due to refinancing, modifications, sale, condemnation or foreclosure). (3) As a percentage of the total number of loans serviced excluding subserviced loans. At February 28, 1998, the Company's servicing portfolio of single-family mortgage loans was stratified by interest rate as follows. -- -------------------------- -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Dollar amounts in Total Portfolio at February 28, 1998 millions) -- -------------------------- -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weighted Interest Principal Percent Average MSR Rate Balance of Total Maturity (Years) Balance -- -------------------------- -- --------------- -- -------------- -- --------------------- -- --------------- -- 7% and under $ 33,823.2 18.5% 23.5 $ 687.1 7.01-8% 92,950.3 50.8% 25.8 1,910.3 8.01-9% 47,026.3 25.7% 26.6 892.6 9.01-10% 6,866.3 3.8% 25.6 100.6 over 10% 2,198.6 1.2% 22.8 21.4 =============== ============== ===================== =============== $182,864.7 100.0% 25.5 $3,612.0 =============== ============== ===================== =============== -- -------------------------- -- --------------- -- -------------- -- --------------------- -- --------------- -- The weighted average interest rate of the single-family mortgage loans in the Company's servicing portfolio at both February 28, 1998 and 1997, was 7.8%. At February 28, 1998, 83% of the loans in the servicing portfolio bore interest at fixed rates and 17% bore interest at adjustable rates. The weighted average net service fee of the loans in the portfolio was 0.413% at February 28, 1998 and the weighted average interest rate of the fixed-rate loans in the servicing portfolio was 7.8%. The following table sets forth the geographic distribution of the Company's servicing portfolio of single-family mortgage loans, including loans and securities held for sale and loans subserviced for others, as of February 28, 1998. --------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------- -------------------- Percentage of Principal Balance Serviced --------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------------------- -------------------- California 34.8% Florida 4.7% Texas 4.6% Washington 3.4% Colorado 3.2% Illinois 3.2% New York 3.0% Arizona 2.8% Virginia 2.6% Ohio 2.6% Maryland 2.5% Massachusetts 2.4% Michigan 2.4% Georgia 2.4% New Jersey 2.4% Other (1) 23.0% ============== 100.0% ============== --------------------------------------------------------- ---------- -------------- --------------------------- (1) No other state contains more than 2.0% of the properties securing loans in the Company's servicing portfolio. Financing of Mortgage Banking Operations The Company's principal financing needs are the financing of loan funding activities and the investment in servicing rights. To meet these needs, the Company currently utilizes commercial paper supported by CHL's revolving credit facility, medium-term notes, mortgage repurchase agreements, subordinated notes, pre-sale funding facilities, an optional cash purchase feature in the dividend reinvestment plan, redeemable capital trust pass-through securities and cash flow from operations. The Company estimates that it had available committed and uncommitted credit facilities aggregating approximately $7.3 billion at February 28, 1998. In the past, the Company has utilized whole loan repurchase agreements, servicing-secured bank facilities, private placements of unsecured notes and other financings, direct borrowings from CHL's revolving credit facility and public offerings of common and preferred stock. For further information on the material terms of the borrowings utilized by the Company to finance its inventory of mortgage loans and MBS and its investment in servicing rights, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Liquidity and Capital Resources." The Company continues to investigate and pursue alternative and supplementary methods to finance its operations through the public and private capital markets. These may include such methods as mortgage loan sale transactions designed to expand the Company's financial capacity and reduce its cost of capital and the securitization of servicing income cash flows. Seasonality The mortgage banking industry is generally subject to seasonal trends. These trends reflect the general national pattern of sales and resales of homes, although refinancings tend to be less seasonal and more closely related to changes in interest rates. Sales and resales of homes typically peak during the spring and summer seasons and decline to lower levels from mid-November through February. In addition, delinquency rates typically rise in the winter months, which results in higher servicing costs. However, late charge income has historically been sufficient to offset such incremental expenses. C. Information Technology The Company employs technology wherever applicable and continually searches for new and better ways of both providing services to its customers and of maximizing the efficiency of its operations. Technology is viewed as part of the Company's competitive advantage. By implementing highly integrated systems into its lines of business, the Company believes it has been successful in the rapid start-up of new business enterprises. The Company views technology as a key driver to maintaining world class productivity levels in its operations. The deployment of advanced messaging systems such as Lotus Notes, interactive voice response and call management systems, as well as integrated client server systems, all represent examples where management believes technology has played a role in improving or maintaining productivity and efficiency. Proprietary systems currently in use by the Company include CLUESTM, an artificial intelligence system that is designed to expedite the review of applications, credit reports and property appraisals. The Company believes that CLUES increases underwriters' productivity, reduces costs and provides greater consistency to the underwriting process. Other systems currently in use by the production Divisions are the EDGE (primarily used by the Consumer Markets and Wholesale Lending Divisions) and GEMS (primarily used by the Correspondent Lending Division) systems, which are loan origination and FSLI systems that are designed to reduce the time and cost associated with the loan application and funding process. These front-end systems were internally developed for the Company's exclusive use and are integrated with the Company's loan servicing, sales, accounting, treasury and other systems. The Company believes that both the EDGE and GEMS systems improve the quality of its loan products and customer service by: (i) reducing the risk of deficient loans; (ii) facilitating accurate and customized pricing; (iii) promptly generating loan documents with the use of laser printers; (iv) providing for electronic communication with credit bureaus, financial institutions, HUD and other third parties; and (v) generally minimizing manual data input. Another system developed and implemented by the Company is the MORTGAGE LOAN COUNSELOR. The MORTGAGE LOAN COUNSELOR is designed for telemarketing and production branches and is currently being used by the telemarketing unit in conjunction with its Customer Contact Management System ("CCMS"). (See discussion in the following paragraph.) MORTGAGE LOAN COUNSELOR provides the telemarketing unit the ability to: (i) pre-qualify a prospective applicant; (ii) provide "what if" scenarios to help find the appropriate loan product; (iii) obtain on-line price quotes; (iv) take applications; (v) request credit reports electronically through LandSafe, Inc.; (vi) issue a LOCK 'N SHOP (R) certificate; and (vii) transmit a loan pre-application to the production units for processing. CCMS is a telemarketing application designed to provide enterprise-wide information on both current and prospective customers. CCMS helps the production divisions identify prospective customers to solicit for specific products or services and obtain the results of any solicitation as well as facilitate customer contact management. Management believes that CCMS will provide the Company the opportunity to (i) reduce the loss of customers who prepay their loans and (ii) obtain new loans from other sources and generate additional revenue by cross-selling other products and services. The Company also participates on the Internet to enhance business partner relationships and to provide loan origination services directly to the consumer. The Company has a public site on the World Wide Web from which information as to product offerings, as well as prequalification applications, can be obtained. In addition, a similar 'private site' is available for business partners such as correspondent lenders, realtors, brokers and builders to view pricing and product information, as well as loan status. The Company believes that the Internet provides a unique medium to deliver mortgage services at a cost significantly lower than that incurred in conventional marketing methods. D. Countrywide Asset Management Corporation On July 1, 1997, the Company and INMC Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (formerly CWM Mortgage Holdings, Inc.) ("INMC") concluded the restructuring of their business relationship. In substance, INMC acquired the assets, operations and employees of its former manager, Countrywide Asset Management Corporation ("CAMC"), formerly a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. INMC will no longer pay management fees to CAMC. In return, the Company received 3,440,800 newly issued common shares of INMC. These shares were restricted at issuance for up to a period of three years. The transaction was structured as a merger of CAMC with and into INMC. E. Other Operations Through various other subsidiaries, the Company conducts business in a number of areas related to the mortgage banking business. The activities of select subsidiaries are described in the following paragraphs. Countrywide Securities Corporation ("CSC") is a securities broker-dealer and a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. CSC trades securities, including MBS and other mortgage-related assets, with broker-dealers and institutional investors. Countrywide Agency, Inc. acts as an agent for the sale of insurance, including homeowners, fire, flood, earthquake, auto, annuities, home warranty, life and disability to CHL's mortgagors and others. CTC Foreclosure Services Corporation serves as trustee under deeds of trust in connection with foreclosures on loans in the Company's servicing portfolio in California and certain other states. Countrywide Servicing Exchange ("CSE") is a national servicing brokerage and consulting firm. CSE acts as an agent facilitating transactions between buyers and sellers of bulk servicing contracts. LandSafe, Inc. and its subsidiaries act as a title insurance agent and a provider of escrow services, appraisal and credit reporting services. Landsafe, Inc. offers title insurance commitments and policies, settlement services and property profiles to realtors, builders, consumers, mortgage brokers and other financial institutions. Appraisal services are provided to consumers, mortgage brokers and other financial institutions through a network of appraisers. Credit reporting services are also provided to the Company and its subsidiaries. Two of the Company's subsidiaries, Charter Reinsurance Corporation ("CRC") and Second Charter Reinsurance Corporation ("SCRC"), partially reinsure loans originated by the Company that are insured by mortgage insurance companies with which CRC and SCRC have entered into a reinsurance agreement. CRC and SCRC share in the premiums collected and losses incurred by the mortgage insurance company. On October 1, 1997 CRC was merged into SCRC. Countrywide Financial Services, Inc. ("CFSI") (formerly Leshner Financial Services, Inc.) operates as a fund manager and service provider for unaffiliated mutual funds, broker-dealers, investment advisors and fund managers. CFSI currently has approximately $1.4 billion in funds under management and services accounts aggregating over $10.9 billion for other fund management companies. Countrywide Tax Services Corporation ("CTSC") provides tax services for CHL mortgagors. CTSC monitors the payment of real estate taxes and pays property tax bills from mortgagors' escrow accounts. F. Industry Segments Information regarding industry segments appears in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, and is incorporated by this reference. G. Regulation The Company's mortgage banking business is subject to the rules and regulations of, and examination by, HUD, FHA, VA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae and state regulatory authorities with respect to originating, processing, selling and servicing mortgage loans. Those rules and regulations, among other things, impose licensing obligations on the Company, establish standards for originating and servicing mortgage loans, prohibit discrimination, provide for inspections and appraisals of property, require credit reports on prospective borrowers and, in some cases, fix maximum interest rates, fees and other loan amounts. Moreover, FHA lenders such as the Company are required annually to submit to the Federal Housing Commissioner audited financial statements, and Ginnie Mae requires the maintenance of specified net worth levels (which vary depending on the amount of Ginnie Mae securities issued by the Company). The Company's affairs are also subject to examination by the Federal Housing Commissioner at all times to assure compliance with the FHA regulations, policies and procedures. In addition to other federal laws, mortgage origination activities are subject to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Federal Truth-in-Lending Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and the regulations promulgated thereunder. These laws prohibit discrimination, require the disclosure of certain basic information to mortgagors concerning credit and settlement costs, limit payment for settlement services to the reasonable value of the services rendered and require the maintenance and disclosure of information regarding the disposition of mortgage applications based on race, gender, geographical distribution and income level. Securities broker-dealer and mutual fund operations are subject to federal and state securities laws, as well as the rules of both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Insurance agency and title insurance operations are subject to insurance laws of each of the states in which the Company conducts such operations. H. Competition The mortgage banking industry is highly competitive and fragmented. The Company competes with other financial intermediaries (such as mortgage bankers, commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions and insurance companies) and mortgage banking subsidiaries or divisions of diversified companies. Generally, the Company competes by offering products with competitive features, by emphasizing the quality of its service and by pricing its range of products at competitive rates. In recent years, the aggregate share of the United States market for residential mortgage loans that is served by mortgage bankers has risen, principally due to the decline in the savings and loan industry. According to industry statistics, mortgage bankers' aggregate share of this market increased from approximately 19% during calendar year 1989 to approximately 52% during calendar year 1997. The Company believes that it has benefited from this trend. I. Employees At February 28, 1998, the Company employed 7,983 persons, 3,751 of whom were engaged in production activities, 1,833 were engaged in loan administration activities and 2,399 were engaged in other activities. None of these employees is represented by a collective bargaining agent. J. Year 2000 Compliance An issue affecting the Company and most other companies is whether computer systems and applications will recognize and process the Year 2000 and beyond. The nature of the Company's business and operations make it reliant on computerized information. The inability of the Company or its business partners to be Year 2000 compliant could have a material adverse impact on the Company and its ability to process customer transactions or provide customer services. The Company is currently in various stages of the assessment, remediation and internal testing of the systems affected by this issue. Management believes it is devoting the necessary resources to timely address all Year 2000 issues over which it has control and all critical systems are scheduled to be Year 2000 compliant by February 28, 1999. The Company is also monitoring the adequacy of the processes and progress of its business partners. However, there can be no assurance that the Company's business partners, vendors and clients will timely resolve their own Year 2000 compliance issues or that any failure would not have a material adverse effect on the Company's operations and financial condition. The Company has and will continue to make investments to ensure compliance with issues associated with the change of the millennium. These costs are being expensed by the Company during the period in which they are incurred. The financial impact to the Company of implementing the systems changes necessary to become Year 2000 compliant has not been and is not anticipated to be material to its financial position or results of operations in any given year. However, the Company's expectations about future costs associated with the Year 2000 are subject to uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations. Factors that could influence the amount and timing of future costs include the success of the Company in identifying systems and programs that are not Year 2000 compliant, the nature and amount of programming required to upgrade or replace each of the affected programs, the availability, rate and magnitude of related labor and consulting costs and the success of the Company's business partners, vendors and clients in addressing the Year 2000 issue. ITEM 2. PROPERTIES The primary executive and administrative offices of the Company and its subsidiaries are currently located at 4500 Park Granada, Calabasas, California, consist of approximately 225,000 square feet and are situated on 20.1 acres of land. This facility was acquired by the Company in 1996. The Company also leases a 64,000 square foot facility in Calabasas, California, which primarily houses part of the Company's data processing operations. For potential expansion purposes, the Company has leased additional vacant land in Calabasas with an option to purchase that land. The administrative offices of the Company's loan production divisions are located in the Calabasas headquarters and in leased or subleased space at 155 North Lake Avenue, 35 North Lake Avenue and 55 South Lake Avenue in Pasadena, California, consisting of 290,000 square feet. The principal leases covering such space expire in the year 2011. The Company also owns an office facility of approximately 300,000 square feet located on 43.5 acres in Simi Valley, California, which is used primarily to house a portion of the Company's loan servicing and data processing operations, and a 253,000 square foot office building situated on 21.5 acres in Plano, Texas, which houses additional loan servicing, loan production and data processing operations. The Plano facility provides the Company with a business recovery site located outside the State of California. Additional space located in Simi Valley, California and Dallas, Texas is currently under lease for loan servicing, loan production and data processing operations. These leases provide an additional 308,000 square feet on varying terms. In order to accommodate its expanding loan servicing and related business operations, the Company purchased 17 acres of vacant land adjacent to its Plano facility. The Company is currently in escrow to purchase the 14 acre parcel adjacent to its Simi Valley facility and plans to convert the existing structure on that parcel to a 200,000 square foot office building. ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS On September 29, 1997, the United States District Court adopted the recommendation of a magistrate denying class certification in a lawsuit which was filed against CHL and a mortgage broker by Jeff and Kathy Briggs as a purported class action. The effect of the ruling is that the lawsuit will not proceed as a class action and will be limited to the Briggs' own claims. The Briggs are seeking reconsideration of the Court's ruling. The suit, entitled Briggs v. Countrywide, et. al. and filed in the Northern Division of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, alleges that in connection with residential mortgage loan closings, CHL made certain payments to mortgage brokers in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and induced mortgage brokers to breach their alleged fiduciary duties to their customers. The plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages plus, as to certain claims, treble damages. In early 1998, two additional purported class action lawsuits were filed making essentially the same allegations about broker compensation as were made in the Briggs case. William C. Elliott et. al v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. was filed on February 18, 1998 in the United States District Court for Northern District of Mississippi; and Joseph W. Gann, Sr., et. al v. America's Wholesale Lender was filed on February 14, 1998 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. CHL's management believes that its compensation programs to mortgage brokers comply with applicable laws and long standing industry practice, and that it has meritorious defenses to these actions. CHL intends to defend vigorously against these actions and believes that the ultimate resolution of such claims will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial position or results of operations. The Company and certain subsidiaries are defendants in various legal proceedings involving matters generally incidental to their business. Although it is difficult to predict the ultimate outcome of these proceedings, management believes, based on discussions with counsel, that any ultimate liability will not materially affect the consolidated financial position or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries. ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS None. PART II ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE COMPANY'S COMMON STOCK AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS The Company's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and the Pacific Stock Exchange (Symbol: CCR). The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices (as reported by the NYSE) for the Company's common stock and the amount of cash dividends declared for the fiscal years ended February 28, 1998 and 1997. ----- --------------- ------------------------- --- ------------------------- --- -------------------------------- Fiscal 1998 Fiscal 1997 Fiscal 1998 Fiscal 1997 ----- --------------- ------------ ------------ --- ------------ ------------ --- -------------------------------- Quarter High Low High Low Cash Dividends Declared ----- --------------- ------------ ------------ --- ------------ ------------ --- -------------------------------- First $29.50 $24.38 $23.88 $19.75 $0.08 $0.08 Second 35.25 26.75 25.13 20.75 0.08 0.08 Third 41.88 31.50 30.25 23.25 0.08 0.08 Fourth 48.50 39.25 31.13 26.38 0.08 0.08 ----- --------------- ------------ ------------ --- ------------ ------------ --- ---------------- --------------- The Company has declared and paid cash dividends on its common stock quarterly since 1979, except that no cash dividend was declared in the fiscal quarter ended February 28, 1982. For the fiscal years ended February 28, 1998 and 1997, the Company declared quarterly cash dividends aggregating $0.32 per share. On March 18, 1998, the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per common share, paid April 30, 1998. The ability of the Company to pay dividends in the future is limited by various restrictive covenants in the debt agreements of the Company; the earnings, cash position and capital needs of the Company; general business conditions and other factors deemed relevant by the Company's Board of Directors. The Company is prohibited under certain of its debt agreements, including its guarantee of CHL's revolving credit facility, from paying dividends on any capital stock (other than dividends payable in capital stock or stock rights), except that so long as no event of default or potential event of default under the agreements exists at the time, the Company may pay dividends in an aggregate amount not to exceed the greater of: (i) the after-tax net income of the Company, determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, for the fiscal year to the end of the quarter to which the dividends relate and (ii) the aggregate amount of dividends paid on common stock during the immediately preceding year. The primary source of funds for payments to stockholders by the Company is dividends received from its subsidiaries. Accordingly, such payments by the Company in the future also depend on various restrictive covenants in the debt obligations of its subsidiaries; the earnings, the cash position and the capital needs of its subsidiaries; as well as laws and regulations applicable to its subsidiaries. Unless the Company and CHL each maintain specified minimum levels of net worth and certain other financial ratios, dividends cannot be paid by the Company and CHL in compliance with certain of CHL's debt obligations (including the revolving credit facility). See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Liquidity and Capital Resources." As of May 26, 1998, there were 2,466 shareholders of record of the Company's common stock, with 110,608,494 common shares outstanding. ITEM 6. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA ----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Years ended February 28(29), (Dollar amounts in thousands, except per 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 share data) ----------------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------ Selected Statement of Earnings Data (1): Revenues: Loan origination fees $301,389 $193,079 $199,724 $203,426 $379,533 Gain (loss) on sale of loans 417,427 247,450 92,341 (41,342) 88,212 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------ Loan production revenue 718,816 440,529 292,065 162,084 467,745 Interest earned 440,058 350,263 308,449 249,560 300,999 Interest charges (424,341) (316,705) (281,573) (205,464) (219,898) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------ Net interest income 15,717 33,558 26,876 44,096 81,101 Loan servicing income 907,674 773,715 620,835 460,351 326,695 Amortization and impairment/recovery of mortgage servicing rights (561,804) (101,380) (342,811) (95,768) (242,177) Servicing hedge benefit (expense) 232,959 (125,306) 200,135 (40,030) 73,400 Less write-off of servicing hedge - - - (25,600) - ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------ Net loan administration income 578,829 547,029 478,159 298,953 157,918 138 91,346 Commissions, fees and other income 138,217 91,346 63,642 40,650 48,816 Gain on sale of subsidiary 57,381 - - - - Gain on sale of servicing - - - 56,880 - ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------ Total revenues 1,508,960 1,112,462 860,742 602,663 755,580 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------ Expenses: Salaries and related expenses 424,321 286,884 229,668 199,061 227,702 Occupancy and other office expenses 184,338 129,877 106,298 102,193 101,691 Guarantee fees 172,692 159,360 121,197 85,831 57,576 Marketing expenses 42,320 34,255 27,115 23,217 26,030 Other operating expenses 119,743 80,188 50,264 37,016 43,481 Branch and administrative office - - - 8,000 - consolidation costs ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------ Total expenses 943,414 690,564 534,542 455,318 456,480 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------ 421,898 Earnings before income taxes 565,546 421,898 326,200 147,345 299,100 Provision for income taxes 220,563 164,540 130,480 58,938 119,640 ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------- ------------ ============ ============ ============ ============= ------------ Net earnings $344,983 $257,358 $195,720 $88,407 $179,460 =============================================== ============ ============ ============ ============= ------------ ----------------------------------------------- ============ ============ ============ ============= ------------ Per Share Data (2): Basic $3.21 $2.50 $1.99 $0.97 $2.02 Diluted $3.09 $2.44 $1.95 $0.96 $1.97 Cash dividends per share $0.32 $0.32 $0.32 $0.32 $0.29 Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic 107,491,000 103,112,000 98,352,000 91,240,000 88,792,000 Diluted 111,526,000 105,677,000 100,270,000 92,087,000 90,501,000 =============================================== ============ ============ ============ ============= ------------ ----------------------------------------------- ============ ============ ============ ============= ------------ Selected Balance Sheet Data at End of Period (1): Total assets $12,219,181 $7,689,090 $8,321,652 $5,589,138 $5,602,884 Short-term debt $4,043,774 $2,567,420 $4,423,738 $2,664,006 $3,111,945 Long-term debt $4,195,732 $2,367,661 $1,911,800 $1,499,306 $1,197,096 Common shareholders' equity $2,087,943 $1,611,531 $1,319,755 $ 942,558 $ 880,137 =============================================== ============ ============ ============ ============= ------------ ----------------------------------------------- ============ ============ ============ ============= ------------ Operating Data (dollar amounts in millions): Loan servicing portfolio (3) $182,889 $158,585 $136,835 $113,111 $84,678 Volume of loans originated $48,772 $ 37,811 $ 34,584 $ 27,866 $52,459 =============================================== ============ ============ ============ ============= ------------ (1) Certain amounts in the Consolidated Financial Statements have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation. (2) Adjusted to reflect subsequent stock dividends and splits. (3) Includes warehoused loans and loans under subservicing agreements. ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS GENERAL The Company's strategy is concentrated on three components of its business: loan production, loan servicing and businesses ancillary to mortgage lending. See "Business--Mortgage Banking Operations" and "Business--Other Operations." The Company intends to continue its efforts to increase its market share of, and realize increased income from, its loan production. In addition, the Company is engaged in building its loan servicing portfolio because of the returns it can earn from such investment. A strong production capability and a growing servicing portfolio are the primary means used by the Company to reduce the sensitivity of its earnings to changes in interest rates because the effect of interest rate changes on loan production income is counter cyclical to their effect on servicing income. Finally, the Company is involved in business activities complementary to its mortgage banking business. These services include acting as agent in the sale of insurance, including homeowners, fire, flood, earthquake, life and disability, providing various title insurance agent and escrow services, offering appraisal and credit reporting services, brokering servicing contracts and trading mortgage-backed securities ("MBS") and other mortgage-related assets. The Company's results of operations historically have been primarily influenced by: (i) the level of demand for mortgage credit, which is affected by such external factors as the level of interest rates, the strength of the various segments of the economy and the demographics of the Company's lending markets; (ii) the direction of interest rates; and (iii) the relationship between mortgage interest rates and the cost of funds. The fiscal year ended February 29, 1996 ("Fiscal 1996") was a record year in profits for the Company. Loan production increased to $34.6 billion from $27.9 billion in the fiscal year ended February 28, 1995 ("Fiscal 1995"). The Company attributed the increase to: (i) a decline in mortgage interest rates during most of the year; (ii) the implementation of a national advertising campaign aimed at developing a brand identity for Countrywide and reaching the consumer directly; and (iii) the opening of two telemarketing centers which, through the use of proprietary systems, provide product information specific to the potential borrower's needs and allow a telemarketer to take a pre-application and pass it to a branch office for processing. For calendar 1995, the Company ranked second in the amount of single-family mortgage originations nationwide. In Fiscal 1996, the Company's market share increased to approximately 5% of the estimated $650 billion single-family mortgage origination market, up from approximately 4% of the estimated $660 billion market in Fiscal 1995. The interest rate environment that prevailed during Fiscal 1996 was favorable for fixed-rate mortgages. Additionally, the percentage of loan production attributable to refinances increased from 30% in Fiscal 1995 to 34% in Fiscal 1996, as borrowers took advantage of declining interest rates. During Fiscal 1996, the Company's loan servicing portfolio grew to $136.8 billion from $113.1 billion at February 28, 1995. This growth resulted from the Company's loan production during the year and bulk servicing acquisitions amounting to $5.2 billion, partially offset by prepayments, partial prepayments and scheduled amortization of $17.2 billion. The prepayment rate in the servicing portfolio was 12%, up from the prior year due to the decreasing mortgage interest rate environment in Fiscal 1996. However, this rate was lower than the 35% prepayment rate in the fiscal year ended February 28, 1994 ("Fiscal 1994") because a substantial number of loans in the servicing portfolio were produced in Fiscal 1994 and bear interest at rates lower than the lowest interest rate level reached during Fiscal 1996. The fiscal year ended February 28, 1997 ("Fiscal 1997") was a period in which interest rates were somewhat volatile, generally higher than during the previous fiscal year but at levels that remained conducive to certain refinance and home purchase activity. The Company's earnings increased 31% from Fiscal 1996. Loan production increased to $37.8 billion from $34.6 billion in the prior year. The Company attributed the increase in production to: (i) the generally strong economy and home purchase market; (ii) the continued implementation of a national advertising campaign, which was started in Fiscal 1996, aimed at developing a brand identity for Countrywide and reaching the consumer directly; and (iii) the integration of home equity and sub-prime lending into the Company's product offerings and production capacity. For calendar 1996, the Company ranked second in the amount of single-family mortgage originations nationwide. The Company's market share for both Fiscal 1997 and 1996 was approximately 5% of the estimated $800 billion and $650 billion, respectively, single-family mortgage origination market. During Fiscal 1997, the Company's loan servicing portfolio grew to $158.6 billion from $136.8 billion at the end of Fiscal 1996. This growth resulted from the Company's loan production during the year and bulk servicing acquisitions amounting to $1.4 billion, partially offset by prepayments, partial prepayments and scheduled amortization of $18.8 billion. The prepayment rate in the servicing portfolio was 11%, slightly down from the prior year due to the higher mortgage interest rate environment in Fiscal 1997. The fiscal year ended February 28, 1998 ("Fiscal 1998") was a record year from ongoing operations in revenues and net earnings for the Company. Loan production increased to $48.8 billion from $37.8 billion in the prior year. The Company attributed the increase in production to: (i) lower interest rates; (ii) the generally strong economy and home purchase market; (iii) the continued implementation of a national advertising campaign, which was started in Fiscal 1996, aimed at developing a brand identity for Countrywide and reaching the consumer directly; and (iv) increased Consumer Markets and Wholesale branch networks, including the new retail sub-prime branches. For calendar 1997, the Company ranked second in the amount of single-family mortgage originations nationwide. The Company's market share for both Fiscal 1998 and Fiscal 1997 was approximately 5% of the estimated $850 billion and $800 billion, respectively, single-family mortgage origination market. During Fiscal 1998, the Company's loan servicing portfolio grew to $182.9 billion from $158.6 billion at the end of Fiscal 1997. This growth resulted from the Company's loan production during the year and bulk servicing acquisitions amounting to $1.0 billion, partially offset by prepayments, partial prepayments and scheduled amortization of $24.3 billion. The prepayment rate in the servicing portfolio was 15%, up from the prior year due to the lower mortgage interest rate environment in Fiscal 1998. On July 1, 1997, the Company and INMC Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (formerly CWM Mortgage Holdings, Inc.) ("INMC") concluded the restructuring of their business relationship. In substance, INMC acquired the assets, operations and employees of its former manager CAMC, formerly a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. INMC no longer pays management fees to CAMC. In return, the Company received 3,440,800 newly issued common shares of INMC. These shares were restricted at issuance for up to a period of three years. The transaction was structured as a merger of CAMC with and into INMC. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS Fiscal 1998 Compared with Fiscal 1997 Revenues from ongoing operations for Fiscal 1998 increased 30% to $1,451.6 million from $1,112.5 million for Fiscal 1997. Net earnings from ongoing operations increased 20% to $ 310.0 million for Fiscal 1998 from $257.4 million for Fiscal 1997. Both revenues and net earnings from ongoing operations for Fiscal 1998 exclude a nonrecurring pre-tax gain of $57.4 million on the sale of a subsidiary. The increase in revenues and net earnings from ongoing operations for Fiscal 1998 compared to Fiscal 1997 was primarily attributable to a larger gain on sale of loans resulting from greater sales of higher-margin home equity loans and sub-prime loans in Fiscal 1998 at significantly higher margins than prime credit quality first mortgages, improved pricing margins on prime credit quality first mortgages, an increase in the size of the Company's servicing portfolio, higher loan production volume and an increase in the income of the non-mortgage banking subsidiaries. These positive factors were partially offset by an increase in amortization of the servicing asset and an increase in expenses in Fiscal 1998 over Fiscal 1997. The total volume of loans produced increased 29% to $48.8 billion for Fiscal 1998 from $37.8 billion for Fiscal 1997. The increase in loan production was primarily due to generally lower interest rates that prevailed during Fiscal 1998 compared to Fiscal 1997, as well as to the continuing expansion of the Company's Consumer Markets and Wholesale Lending divisions, including the new retail sub-prime branches. Refinancings totaled $19.8 billion, or 41% of total fundings, for Fiscal 1998, as compared to $12.3 billion, or 33% of total fundings, for Fiscal 1997. Fixed-rate mortgage loan production totaled $37.5 billion, or 77% of total fundings, for Fiscal 1998, as compared to $27.9 billion, or 74% of total fundings, for Fiscal 1997. Total loan volume in the Company's production Divisions is summarized below. - - -------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ -------- (Dollar amounts in millions) Loan Production - - -------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ -------- Fiscal 1998 Fiscal 1997 ------------- ------------- Consumer Markets Division $13,339 $ 8,071 Wholesale Lending Division 15,731 8,430 Correspondent Lending Division 19,562 21,310 Full Spectrum Lending, Inc. 140 - ============= ============= Total Loan Volume $48,772 $37,811 ============= ============= - - -------------------------------------------- ------------- -------- ------------- -------- The factors which affect the relative volume of production among the Company's Divisions include the price competitiveness of each Division's product offerings, the level of mortgage lending activity in each Division's market and the success of each Division's sales and marketing efforts. Included in the Company's total volume of loans produced is $1.5 billion of home equity loans funded in Fiscal 1998 and $613 million funded in Fiscal 1997. Sub-prime loan production, which is also included in the Company's total production volume, was $1.6 billion in Fiscal 1998 and $864 million in Fiscal 1997. At February 28, 1998 and 1997, the Company's pipeline of loans in process was $12.6 billion and $4.7 billion, respectively. Historically, approximately 43% to 77% of the pipeline of loans in process has funded. In addition, at February 28, 1998, the Company had committed to make loans in the amount of $1.4 billion, subject to property identification and approval of the loans (the "LOCK 'N SHOP (R) Pipeline"). At February 28, 1997, the LOCK 'N SHOP (R) Pipeline was $1.8 billion. In Fiscal 1998 and Fiscal 1997, the Company received 714,668 and 499,861 new loan applications, respectively, at an average daily rate of $306 million and $206 million, respectively. The factors that affect the percentage of applications received and funded during a given time period include the movement and direction of interest rates, the average length of loan commitments issued, the creditworthiness of applicants, the production Divisions' loan processing efficiency and loan pricing decisions. Loan origination fees increased in Fiscal 1998 as compared to Fiscal 1997 due to higher production. The percentage increase in loan origination fees was more than the increase in production. This is primarily because production by the Consumer Markets and Wholesale Lending Divisions (which, due to their higher cost structure, charge higher origination fees per dollar loaned) comprised a greater percentage of total production in Fiscal 1998 than in Fiscal 1997. Gain on sale of loans improved in Fiscal 1998 as compared to Fiscal 1997 primarily due to greater sales during Fiscal 1998 of higher-margin home equity and sub-prime loans and improved pricing margins on prime credit quality first mortgages. The sale of home equity loans contributed $62 million and $20 million to gain on sale of loans in Fiscal 1998 and Fiscal 1997, respectively. Sub-prime loans contributed $70 million to the gain on sale of loans in Fiscal 1998 and $72 million in Fiscal 1997. In general, loan origination fees and gain (loss) on sale of loans are affected by numerous factors including the volume and mix of loans produced and sold, loan pricing decisions, interest rate volatility and the general direction of interest rates. Net interest income (interest earned net of interest charges) decreased to $15.7 million for Fiscal 1998 from $33.6 million for Fiscal 1997. Net interest income is principally a function of: (i) net interest income earned from the Company's mortgage loan warehouse ($74.5 million and $61.6 million for Fiscal 1998 and Fiscal 1997, respectively); (ii) interest expense related to the Company's investment in servicing rights ($219.7 million and $148.3 million for Fiscal 1998 and Fiscal 1997, respectively) and (iii) interest income earned from the custodial balances associated with the Company's servicing portfolio ($151.0 million and $116.9 million for Fiscal 1998 and Fiscal 1997, respectively). The Company earns interest on, and incurs interest expense to carry, mortgage loans held in its warehouse. The increase in net interest income from the mortgage loan warehouse was primarily attributed to higher production levels partially resulting from aggregating home equity and sub-prime loans (which generally bear interest at higher rates than prime credit quality first mortgages) prior to their sale or securitization. The increase in interest expense on the investment in servicing rights resulted primarily from a larger servicing portfolio and an increase in the payments of interest to certain investors pursuant to customary servicing arrangements with regard to paid-off loans in excess of the interest earned on these loans through their respective payoff dates ("Interest Costs Incurred on Payoffs"). The increase in net interest income earned from the custodial balances was related to an increase in the average custodial balances (caused by growth of the servicing portfolio and an increase in the amount of prepayments), combined with an increase in the earnings rate from Fiscal 1997 to Fiscal 1998. During Fiscal 1998, loan administration income was positively affected by the continued growth of the loan servicing portfolio. At February 28, 1998, the Company serviced $182.9 billion of loans (including $6.7 billion of loans subserviced for others), compared to $158.6 billion (including $3.9 billion of loans subserviced for others) at February 28, 1997, a 15% increase. The growth in the Company's servicing portfolio during Fiscal 1998 was the result of loan production volume and the acquisition of bulk servicing rights, partially offset by prepayments, partial prepayments and scheduled amortization of mortgage loans. The weighted average interest rate of the mortgage loans in the Company's servicing portfolio at both February 28, 1998 and 1997 was 7.8%. It is the Company's strategy to build and retain its servicing portfolio because of the returns the Company can earn from such investment and because the Company believes that servicing income is counter cyclical to loan production income. See "Prospective Trends - Market Factors." During Fiscal 1998, the prepayment rate of the Company's servicing portfolio was 15%, compared to 11% for Fiscal 1997. In general, the prepayment rate is affected by the level of refinance activity, which in turn is driven by the relative level of mortgage interest rates, and activity in the home purchase market. The increase in the prepayment rate from Fiscal 1997 to Fiscal 1998 was primarily attributable to the increase in refinance activity caused by lower interest rates during Fiscal 1998 than during Fiscal 1997. The primary means used by the Company to reduce the sensitivity of its earnings to changes in interest rates is through a strong production capability and a growing servicing portfolio. In addition, to mitigate the effect on earnings of impairment that may result from increased current and projected future prepayment activity, the Company acquires financial instruments, including derivative contracts, that increase in aggregate value when interest rates decline (the "Servicing Hedge"). These financial instruments include options on interest rate futures and MBS, interest rate futures, interest rate floors, interest rate swaps (with the Company's maximum payment capped) ("Capped Swaps"), options on interest rate swaps ("Swaptions"), interest rate caps, principal-only ("P/O") swaps, certain tranches of collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs") and options on callable pass-through certificates ("options on CPC"). With the Capped Swaps, the Company receives and pays interest on a specified notional amount. The rate received is fixed; the rate paid is adjustable, is indexed to the London Interbank Offered Rates for U.S. dollar deposits ("LIBOR") and has a specified maximum or "cap". With Swaps, the Company receives and pays interest on a specified notional amount. The rate received is fixed; the rate paid is adjustable and is indexed to LIBOR. With the Swaptions, the Company has the option to enter into a receive-fixed, pay-floating interest rate swap at a future date or to settle the transaction for cash. With P/O swaps, the value is determined by changes in the value of the referenced P/O security. The payments received by the Company under the P/O swaps relate to the cash flows of the referenced P/O security. The payments made by the Company are based upon a notional amount tied to the remaining balance of the referenced P/O security multiplied by a floating rate indexed to LIBOR. The CMOs, which consist primarily of P/O securities, have been purchased at deep discounts to their par values. As interest rates decrease, prepayments on the collateral underlying the CMOs should increase. This should result in a decline in the average lives of the P/O securities and a corresponding increase in the present values of their cash flows. Conversely, as interest rates increase, prepayments on the collateral underlying the CMOs should decrease. These changes should result in an increase in the average lives of the P/O securities and a decrease in the present values of their cash flows. An option on CPC gives the holder the right to call a mortgage-backed security at par and receive the remaining cash flows from the particular pool. This option has a one year lockout, meaning it cannot be exercised until the end of the first year. After the lockout period, the option can be exercised at anytime. The Servicing Hedge is designed to protect the value of the investment in mortgage servicing rights ("MSRs") from the effects of increased prepayment activity that generally results from declining interest rates. To the extent that interest rates increase, the value of the MSRs increases while the value of the hedge instruments declines. With respect to the floors, options, caps, Swaptions, options on CPC and CMOs, the Company is not exposed to loss beyond its initial outlay to acquire the hedge instruments. The Company's exposure to loss on futures is related to changes in the Eurodollar rate over the life of the contract. The Company estimates that its maximum exposure to loss over the contractual term is $18.0 million. With respect to the Capped Swaps contracts entered into by the Company as of February 28, 1998, the Company estimates that its maximum exposure to loss over the contractual term is $24.5 million. With respect to the Swap contracts entered into by the Company as of February 28, 1998, the Company estimates that its maximum exposure to loss over the contractual term is $153.0 million. In Fiscal 1998, the Company recognized a net benefit of $233.0 million from its Servicing Hedge. The net benefit included unrealized net gains of $182.2 million and realized gains of $50.8 million from the sale of various financial instruments that comprise the Servicing Hedge and premium amortization. In Fiscal 1997, the Company recognized a net expense of $125.3 million from its Servicing Hedge. The net expense included unrealized losses of $56.9 million and net realized losses of $68.4 million from the sale of various financial instruments that comprise the Servicing Hedge and premium amortization. There can be no assurance that the Servicing Hedge will generate gains in the future, or if gains are generated, that they will fully offset impairment of the MSRs. The Company recorded amortization and net impairment of its MSRs for Fiscal 1998 totaling $561.8 million (consisting of amortization amounting to $300.3 million and impairment of $261.5 million), compared to $101.4 million of amortization and impairment (consisting of amortization amounting to $220.1 million and recovery of previous impairment of $118.7 million) for Fiscal 1997. The factors affecting the amount of amortization and impairment or recovery of the MSRs recorded in an accounting period include the level of prepayments during the period, the change in estimated future prepayments and the amount of Servicing Hedge gains or losses. During Fiscal 1998, the Company acquired bulk servicing rights for loans with principal balances aggregating $1.0 billion at a price of 1.13% of the aggregate outstanding principal balances of the servicing portfolios acquired. During Fiscal 1997, the Company acquired bulk servicing rights for loans with principal balances aggregating $1.4 billion at a price of 1.60% of the aggregate outstanding principal balances of the servicing portfolios acquired. Salaries and related expenses are summarized below for Fiscal 1998 and Fiscal 1997. -- --------------------------- -- -- ------ ------------------------------------------------- ----- -- ---- ----- (Dollar amounts in Fiscal 1998 thousands) -- ------ ------------------------------------------------- ----- -- ---- ----- -- --------------------------- -- Production Loan Corporate Other Activities Administration Administration Activities Total -- --------------------------- -- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------ Base Salaries $134,776 $44,911 $70,305 $24,512 $274,504 Incentive Bonus 76,854 1,196 16,570 10,361 104,981 Payroll Taxes and Benefits 22,956 8,476 10,581 2,823 44,836 ------------ ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------ Total Salaries and Related Expenses $234,586 $54,583 $97,456 $37,696 $424,321 ============ ============= ============= ============= ------------ Average Number of 3,132 1,630 1,370 434 6,566 Employees -- --------------------------- -- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------ -- --------------------------- -- -- ------ ------------------------------------------------- ----- -- ---- ----- (Dollar amounts in Fiscal 1997 thousands) -- ------ ------------------------------------------------- ----- -- ---- ----- -- --------------------------- -- Production Loan Corporate Other Activities Administration Administration Activities Total -- --------------------------- -- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------ Base Salaries $ 91,054 $41,806 $54,244 $12,852 $199,956 Incentive Bonus 34,501 763 14,820 6,799 56,883 Payroll Taxes and Benefits 15,105 7,747 5,389 1,804 30,045 ------------ ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------ Total Salaries and Related Expenses $140,660 $50,316 $74,453 $21,455 $286,884 ============ ============= ============= ============= ------------ Average Number of 2,303 1,555 1,107 251 5,216 Employees -- --------------------------- -- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------ The amount of salaries increased during Fiscal 1998 reflecting the Company's strategy of expanding and enhancing its Consumer Markets and Wholesale branch networks, including new retail sub-prime branches. In addition, a larger servicing portfolio and growth in the Company's non-mortgage banking subsidiaries also contributed to the increase. Incentive bonuses earned during Fiscal 1998 increased primarily due to higher production and a change in production mix. Occupancy and other office expenses for Fiscal 1998 increased to $184.3 million from $129.9 million for Fiscal 1997 primarily due to: (i) the continued effort by the Company to expand its retail branch network, particularly outside of California; (ii) higher loan production; (iii) a larger servicing portfolio; and (iv) growth in the Company's non-mortgage banking activities. Guarantee fees represent fees paid to guarantee timely and full payment of principal and interest on MBS and whole loans sold to permanent investors and to transfer the credit risk of the loans in the servicing portfolio. For Fiscal 1998, guarantee fees increased 8% to $172.7 million from $159.4 million for Fiscal 1997. The increase resulted from an increase in the servicing portfolio, changes in the mix of permanent investors and terms negotiated at the time of loan sales. Marketing expenses for Fiscal 1998 increased 24% to $42.3 million from $34.3 million for Fiscal 1997, reflecting the Company's continued implementation of a marketing plan to increase consumer brand awareness of the Company in the residential mortgage market. Other operating expenses for Fiscal 1998 increased from Fiscal 1997 by $39.6 million, or 49%. This increase was due primarily to higher loan production, a larger servicing portfolio, increased reserves for bad debt, increased systems development and growth in the Company's non-mortgage banking subsidiaries in Fiscal 1998 as compared to Fiscal 1997. Profitability of Loan Production and Servicing Activities In Fiscal 1998, the Company's pre-tax earnings from its loan production activities (which include loan origination and purchases, warehousing and sales) were $245.1 million. In Fiscal 1997, the Company's comparable pre-tax earnings were $141.9 million. The increase of $103.2 million was primarily attributable to increased production, greater sales of higher-margin home equity and sub-prime loans at significantly higher margins than prime credit quality first mortgages and improved pricing margins on prime credit quality first mortgages. These positive results were partially offset by higher production costs. In Fiscal 1998, the Company's pre-tax income from its loan servicing activities (which include administering the loans in the servicing portfolio, selling homeowners and other insurance, acting as tax payment agent, marketing foreclosed properties and acting as reinsurer) was $215.5 million as compared to $254.2 million in Fiscal 1997. The decrease of $38.7 million was primarily attributed to the increased amortization of the servicing asset and Interest Costs Incurred on Payoffs due to declining interest rates and increase in prepayments from Fiscal 1997 to Fiscal 1998. These negative factors were partially offset by the increase in servicing fees, miscellaneous income and interest earned on escrow balances derived by the larger servicing portfolio. Profitability of Other Activities In addition to loan production and loan servicing, the Company offers ancillary products and services related to its mortgage banking activities. These include title insurance and escrow services, home appraisals, securities brokerage and servicing rights brokerage. For Fiscal 1998, these activities contributed $47.5 million to the Company's pre-tax income compared to $25.8 million for Fiscal 1997. This increase in pre-tax income primarily results from improved performance of the title insurance, escrow and capital markets businesses. During Fiscal 1998, Countrywide Asset Management Corporation, a subsidiary of the Company, was sold to INMC Mortgage Holdings, Inc., (INMC) a publicly traded real estate investment trust for 3,440,800 newly issued common shares of INMC stock. These shares were restricted at issuance for up to a period of three years. The impact of this sale on earnings was a $57.4 million pre-tax gain. Fiscal 1997 Compared with Fiscal 1996 Revenues for Fiscal 1997 increased 29% to $1,112.5 million from $860.7 million for Fiscal 1996. Net earnings increased 31% to $257.4 million in Fiscal 1997 from $195.7 million in Fiscal 1996. The increase in revenues and net earnings in Fiscal 1997 compared to Fiscal 1996 was primarily attributable to a larger gain on sale of loans resulting from greater sales of higher-margin home equity loans and sales of sub-prime loans in Fiscal 1997 at significantly higher margins than prime credit quality first mortgages, improved pricing margins on prime credit quality first mortgages, an increase in the size of the Company's servicing portfolio and higher loan production volume. These positive factors were partially offset by increased expenses in Fiscal 1997 over Fiscal 1996. The total volume of loans produced increased 9% to $37.8 billion for Fiscal 1997 from $34.6 billion for Fiscal 1996. Refinancings totaled $12.3 billion, or 33% of total fundings, for Fiscal 1997, as compared to $11.7 billion, or 34% of total fundings, for Fiscal 1996. Fixed-rate mortgage loan production totaled $27.9 billion, or 74% of total fundings, for Fiscal 1997, as compared to $26.9 billion, or 78% of total fundings, for Fiscal 1996. Total loan volume in the Company's production Divisions is summarized below. - - -------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ -------- (Dollar amounts in millions) Loan Production - - -------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ -------- Fiscal 1997 Fiscal 1996 ------------- ------------- Consumer Markets Division $ 8,071 $ 7,458 Wholesale Lending Division 8,430 8,061 Correspondent Lending Division 21,310 19,065 ============= ============= Total Loan Volume $37,811 $34,584 ============= ============= - - -------------------------------------------- ------------- -------- ------------- -------- The factors which affect the relative volume of production among the Company's three divisions include the price competitiveness of each division's product offerings, the level of mortgage lending activity in each division's market and the success of each division's sales and marketing efforts. Included in the Company's total volume of loans produced are $613 million of home equity loans funded in Fiscal 1997 and $221 million funded in Fiscal 1996. Sub-prime credit quality loan production, which is also included in the Company's total production volume, was $864 million in Fiscal 1997 and $220 million in Fiscal 1996. At February 28(29), 1997 and 1996, the Company's pipeline of loans in process was $4.7 billion and $5.6 billion, respectively. Historically, approximately 43% to 77% of the pipeline of loans in process has funded. In addition, at February 28, 1997, the Company had $1.8 billion of the loans in the LOCK 'N SHOP (R) Pipeline. At February 29, 1996, the LOCK 'N SHOP (R) Pipeline was $1.3 billion. In Fiscal 1997 and Fiscal 1996, the Company received 499,861 and 460,486 new loan applications, respectively, at an average daily rate of $206 million and $194 million, respectively. The factors that affect the percentage of applications received and funded during a given time period include the movement and direction of interest rates, the average length of loan commitments issued, the creditworthiness of applicants, the production divisions' loan processing efficiency and loan pricing decisions. Loan origination fees decreased in Fiscal 1997 as compared to Fiscal 1996 primarily because production by the Correspondent Division (which, due to its lower cost structures, charges lower origination fees per dollar loaned) comprised a greater percentage of total production in Fiscal 1997 than in Fiscal 1996. Gain on sale of loans improved in Fiscal 1997 as compared to Fiscal 1996 primarily due to the sale during Fiscal 1997 of higher-margin home equity and sub-prime loans and improved pricing margins on prime credit quality first mortgages. The sale of home equity loans contributed $20 million and $4 million to gain on sale of loans in Fiscal 1997 and Fiscal 1996, respectively. Sub-prime loans contributed $72 million to the gain on sale of loans in Fiscal 1997. There were no sub-prime loan sales in Fiscal 1996. In general, loan origination fees and gain (loss) on sale of loans are affected by numerous factors including the volume and mix of loans produced and sold, loan pricing decisions, interest rate volatility and the general direction of interest rates. Net interest income (interest earned net of interest charges) increased to $33.6 million for Fiscal 1997 from $26.9 million for Fiscal 1996. Net interest income is principally a function of: (i) net interest income earned from the Company's mortgage loan warehouse ($61.6 million and $35.0 million for Fiscal 1997 and Fiscal 1996, respectively); (ii) interest expense related to the Company's investment in servicing rights ($148.3 million and $112.4 million for Fiscal 1997 and Fiscal 1996, respectively) and (iii) interest income earned from the custodial balances associated with the Company's servicing portfolio ($116.9 million and $102.3 million for Fiscal 1997 and Fiscal 1996, respectively). The Company earns interest on, and incurs interest expense to carry, mortgage loans held in its warehouse. The increase in net interest income from the mortgage loan warehouse was primarily attributed to a higher net earnings rate partially resulting from aggregating home equity and sub-prime loans (which generally bear interest at higher rates than prime credit quality first mortgages) prior to their sale or securitization. The increase in interest expense on the investment in servicing rights resulted primarily from a larger servicing portfolio, partially offset by a decrease in Interest Costs Incurred on Payoffs. The increase in net interest income earned from the custodial balances was related to an increase in the average custodial balances (caused by growth of the servicing portfolio and an increase in the amount of prepayments), offset somewhat by a decrease in the earnings rate from Fiscal 1996 to Fiscal 1997. During Fiscal 1997, loan administration income was positively affected by the continued growth of the loan servicing portfolio. At February 28, 1997, the Company serviced $158.6 billion of loans (including $3.9 billion of loans subserviced for others), compared to $136.8 billion (including $1.9 billion of loans subserviced for others) at February 29, 1996, a 16% increase. The growth in the Company's servicing portfolio during Fiscal 1997 was the result of loan production volume and the acquisition of bulk servicing rights, partially offset by prepayments, partial prepayments and scheduled amortization of mortgage loans. The weighted average interest rate of the mortgage loans in the Company's servicing portfolio at both February 28(29), 1997 and 1996 was 7.8%. It is the Company's strategy to build and retain its servicing portfolio because of the returns the Company can earn from such investment and because the Company believes that servicing income is counter cyclical to loan production income. See "Prospective Trends - Market Factors." During Fiscal 1997, the prepayment rate of the Company's servicing portfolio was 11%, compared to 12% for Fiscal 1996. In Fiscal 1997, the Company recognized a net expense of $125.3 million from its Servicing Hedge. The net expense included unrealized losses of $56.9 million and realized losses of $68.4 million from the sale of various financial instruments that comprise the Servicing Hedge and premium amortization. In Fiscal 1996, the Company recognized a net benefit of $200.1 million from its Servicing Hedge. The net benefit included unrealized gains of $108.8 million and net realized gains of $91.3 million from the sale of various financial instruments that comprise the Servicing Hedge. There can be no assurance that the Company's Servicing Hedge will generate gains in the future, or if gains are generated, that they will fully offset impairment of the MSRs. See Note I to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements. The Company recorded amortization and net impairment of its MSRs for Fiscal 1997 totaling $101.4 million (consisting of amortization amounting to $220.1 million and recovery of previous impairment of $118.7 million), compared to $342.8 million of amortization and impairment (consisting of amortization amounting to $168.0 million and net impairment of $174.8 million) for Fiscal 1996. The factors affecting the amount of amortization and impairment or recovery of the MSRs recorded in an accounting period include the level of prepayments during the period, the change in estimated future prepayments and the amount of Servicing Hedge gains or losses. During Fiscal 1997, the Company acquired bulk servicing rights for loans with principal balances aggregating $1.4 billion at a price of 1.60% of the aggregate outstanding principal balances of the servicing portfolios acquired. During Fiscal 1996, the Company acquired bulk servicing rights for loans with principal balances aggregating $5.2 billion at a price of 1.30% of the aggregate outstanding principal balances of the servicing portfolios acquired. Salaries and related expenses are summarized below for Fiscal 1997 and Fiscal 1996. -- --------------------------- -- -- ------ ------------------------------------------------- ----- -- ---- ----- (Dollar amounts in Fiscal 1997 thousands) -- ------ ------------------------------------------------- ----- -- ---- ----- -- --------------------------- -- Production Loan Corporate Other Activities Administration Administration Activities Total -- --------------------------- -- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------ Base Salaries $ 91,054 $41,806 $54,244 $12,852 $199,956 Incentive Bonus 34,501 763 14,820 6,799 56,883 Payroll Taxes and Benefits 15,105 7,747 5,389 1,804 30,045 ------------ ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------ Total Salaries and Related Expenses $140,660 $50,316 $74,453 $21,455 $286,884 ============ ============= ============= ============= ------------ Average Number of 2,303 1,555 1,107 251 5,216 Employees -- --------------------------- -- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------ -- --------------------------- -- -- ------ ------------------------------------------------- ----- -- ---- ----- (Dollar amounts in Fiscal 1996 thousands) -- ------ ------------------------------------------------- ----- -- ---- ----- -- --------------------------- -- Production Loan Corporate Other Activities Administration Administration Activities Total -- --------------------------- -- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------ Base Salaries $ 68,502 $32,080 $46,504 $ 9,711 $156,797 Incentive Bonus 33,022 445 9,711 4,546 47,724 Payroll Taxes and Benefits 11,472 5,571 6,824 1,280 25,147 ------------ ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------ Total Salaries and Related Expenses $112,996 $38,096 $63,039 $15,537 $229,668 ============ ============= ============= ============= ------------ Average Number of 1,743 1,160 887 192 3,982 Employees -- --------------------------- -- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- -- ------------ The amount of salaries increased during Fiscal 1997 primarily due to an increase in the number of employees resulting from higher loan production and diversification of loan products, a larger servicing portfolio and growth in the Company's non-mortgage banking activities. Occupancy and other office expenses for Fiscal 1997 increased to $129.9 million from $106.3 million for Fiscal 1996 primarily due to: (i) the continued effort by the Company to expand its retail branch network, particularly outside of California, (ii) the purchase of an office facility to house the Company's primary executive and administrative offices and some of its non-mortgage banking subsidiaries, (iii) higher loan production, (iv) a larger servicing portfolio and (v) growth in the Company's non-mortgage banking activities. Guarantee fees represent fees paid to guarantee timely and full payment of principal and interest on MBS and whole loans sold to permanent investors and to transfer the credit risk of the loans in the servicing portfolio. For Fiscal 1997, guarantee fees increased 31% to $159.4 million from $121.2 million for Fiscal 1996. The increase resulted from an increase in the servicing portfolio, changes in the mix of permanent investors and terms negotiated at the time of loan sales. Marketing expenses for Fiscal 1997 increased 26% to $34.3 million from $27.1 million for Fiscal 1996, reflecting the Company's continued implementation of a marketing plan to increase consumer brand awareness. Other operating expenses for Fiscal 1997 increased from Fiscal 1996 by $29.9 million, or 60%. This increase was due primarily to higher loan production, a larger servicing portfolio, increased reserves for bad debts and increased systems development and operation costs in Fiscal 1997 than in Fiscal 1996. Profitability of Loan Production and Servicing Activities In Fiscal 1997, the Company's pre-tax earnings from its loan production activities (which include loan origination and purchases, warehousing and sales) were $141.9 million. In Fiscal 1996, the Company's comparable pre-tax earnings were $61.2 million. The increase of $80.7 million was primarily attributable to a greater sale of higher-margin home equity loans and sales of sub-prime loans at significantly higher margins than prime credit quality first mortgages and improved pricing margins on prime credit quality first mortgages. There were no sub-prime loan sales in Fiscal 1996. These positive results were partially offset by higher production costs and a change in the internal method of allocating overhead between the Company's production and servicing activities. In Fiscal 1997, the Company's pre-tax income from its loan servicing activities (which include administering the loans in the servicing portfolio, selling homeowners and other insurance, acting as tax payment agent, marketing foreclosed properties and acting as reinsurer) was $254.2 million as compared to $251.2 million in Fiscal 1996. The increase of $3.0 million was due to an increase in the size of the servicing portfolio and in the rate of servicing and miscellaneous fees earned. Largely offsetting these positive factors was an increase in the net expense resulting from amortization and impairment of MSRs and from the Servicing Hedge from Fiscal 1996 to Fiscal 1997. The increase in such net expense is due primarily to increased amortization resulting from a higher cost basis in the MSRs. This higher basis is attributable to adoption of a new accounting standard effective March 1, 1995 that required recognition of originated mortgage servicing rights. Profitability of Other Activities In addition to loan production and loan servicing, the Company offers ancillary products and services related to its mortgage banking activities. These include title insurance and escrow services, home appraisals, credit cards, management of a publicly traded real estate investment trust ("REIT"), securities brokerage and servicing rights brokerage. For Fiscal 1997, these activities contributed $25.8 million to the Company's pre-tax income compared to $13.8 million for Fiscal 1996. This increase to pre-tax income primarily results from improved performance of the title insurance, escrow and REIT management services. QUANTITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK The primary market risk facing the Company is interest rate risk. From an enterprise perspective, the Company manages this risk by striving to balance its loan origination and loan servicing business segments, which are counter cyclical in nature. In addition, the Company utilizes various financial instruments, including derivatives contracts, to manage the interest rate risk related specifically to its committed pipeline, mortgage loan inventory and MBS held for sale, MSRs, mortgage-backed securities retained in securitizations and debt securities. The overall objective of the Company's interest rate risk management policies is to offset changes in the values of these items resulting from changes in interest rates. The Company does not speculate on the direction of interest rates in its management of interest rate risk. As part of its interest rate risk management process, the Company performs various sensitivity analyses that quantify the net financial impact of changes in interest rates on its interest rate-sensitive assets, liabilities and commitments. These analyses incorporate scenarios including selected hypothetical (instantaneous) parallel shifts in the yield curve. Various modeling techniques are employed to value the financial instruments. For mortgages, MBS and MBS forward contracts and CMOs, an option-adjusted spread ("OAS") model is used. The primary assumptions used in this model are the implied market volatility of interest rates and prepayment speeds. For options and interest rate floors, an option-pricing model is used. The primary assumption used in this model is implied market volatility of interest rates. MSRs and residual interests are valued using discounted cash flow models. The primary assumptions used in these models are prepayment rates, discount rates and credit losses. Utilizing the sensitivity analyses described above, as of February 28, 1998, the Company estimates that a permanent 0.50% reduction in interest rates, all else being constant, would result in a $15 million after-tax loss related to its trading securities and a $14 million after-tax loss related to its other financial instruments, for the fiscal year ended February 28, 1999. The Company estimates that this combined after-tax loss of $29 million is the largest such loss that would occur within the range of reasonably possible interest rate changes. These sensitivity analyses are limited by the fact that they are performed at a particular point in time and do not incorporate other factors that would impact the Company's financial performance in such a scenario. Consequently, the preceding estimates should not be viewed as a forecast. INFLATION Inflation affects the Company in the areas of loan production and servicing. Interest rates normally increase during periods of high inflation and decrease during periods of low inflation. Historically, as interest rates increase, loan production, particularly from loan refinancings, decreases, although in an environment of gradual interest rate increases, purchase activity may actually be stimulated by an improving economy or the anticipation of increasing real estate values. In such periods of reduced loan production, production margins may decline due to increased competition resulting from overcapacity in the market. In a higher interest rate environment, servicing-related earnings are enhanced because prepayment rates tend to slow down thereby extending the average life of the Company's servicing portfolio and reducing amortization and impairment of the MSRs, decreasing Interest Costs Incurred on Payoffs and because the rate of interest earned from the custodial balances tends to increase. Conversely, as interest rates decline, loan production, particularly from loan refinancings, increases. However, during such periods, prepayment rates tend to accelerate (principally on the portion of the portfolio having a note rate higher than the then-current interest rates), thereby decreasing the average life of the Company's servicing portfolio and adversely impacting its servicing-related earnings primarily due to increased amortization and impairment of the MSRs, a decreased rate of interest earned from the custodial balances and increased Interest Costs Incurred on Payoffs. The impacts of changing interest rates on servicing-related earnings are reduced by performance of the Servicing Hedge, which is designed to mitigate the impact on earnings of higher amortization and impairment that may result from declining interest rates. SEASONALITY The mortgage banking industry is generally subject to seasonal trends. These trends reflect the general national pattern of sales and resales of homes, although refinancings tend to be less seasonal and more closely related to changes in interest rates. Sales and resales of homes typically peak during the spring and summer seasons and decline to lower levels from mid-November through February. In addition, delinquency rates typically rise in the winter months, which results in higher servicing costs. However, late charge income has historically been sufficient to offset such incremental expenses. LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES The Company's principal financing needs are the financing of loan funding activities and the investment in servicing rights. To meet these needs, the Company currently utilizes commercial paper supported by the revolving credit facility, medium-term notes, MBS repurchase agreements, subordinated notes, pre-sale funding facilities, an optional cash purchase feature in the dividend reinvestment plan, redeemable capital trust pass-through securities and cash flow from operations. In addition, in the past the Company has utilized whole loan repurchase agreements, servicing-secured bank facilities, private placements of unsecured notes and other financings, direct borrowings from the revolving credit facility and public offerings of common and preferred stock. Certain of the debt obligations of the Company and Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. ("CHL") contain various provisions that may affect the ability of the Company and CHL to pay dividends and remain in compliance with such obligations. These provisions include requirements concerning net worth, current ratio and other financial covenants. These provisions have not had, and are not expected to have, an adverse impact on the ability of the Company and CHL to pay dividends. The Company continues to investigate and pursue alternative and supplementary methods to finance its growing operations through the public and private capital markets. These may include such methods as mortgage loan sale transactions designed to expand the Company's financial capacity and reduce its cost of capital and the securitization of servicing income cash flows. In December 1996, Countrywide Capital I, a subsidiary of the Company, issued $300 million of 8% Capital Trust Pass-through Securities, and on June 4, 1997, Countrywide Capital III, a subsidiary of the Company, issued $200 million of 8.05% Subordinated Capital Income Securities, the proceeds of which were used to purchase subordinated debt securities from the Company. The Company used the net proceeds from the sale of the subordinated debt securities for general corporate purposes, principally to reduce short-term debt. In connection with its derivative contracts, the Company may be required to deposit cash or certain government securities or obtain letters of credit to meet margin requirements. The Company considers such potential margin requirements in its overall liquidity management. In the course of the Company's mortgage banking operations, the Company sells to investors the mortgage loans it originates and purchases but generally retains the right to service the loans, thereby increasing the Company's investment in loan servicing rights. The Company views the sale of loans on a servicing-retained basis in part as an investment vehicle. Significant unanticipated prepayments in the Company's servicing portfolio could have a material adverse effect on the Company's future operating results and liquidity. Cash Flows Operating Activities In Fiscal 1998, the Company's operating activities used cash of approximately $2.5 billion on a short-term basis primarily to support the increase in its mortgage loans and MBS held for sale. Mortgage loans and MBS held for sale are generally financed with short-term borrowings. In Fiscal 1997, operating activities provided approximately $2.0 billion on a short-term basis primarily from the decrease in its mortgage loans and MBS held for sale. In Fiscal 1996, the Company's operating activities used cash of approximately $1.5 billion. Investing Activities The primary investing activity for which cash was used by the Company was the investment in servicing. Net cash used by investing activities was $1.1 billion for Fiscal 1998 and $0.9 billion for Fiscal 1997 and Fiscal 1996. Financing Activities Net cash provided by financing activities amounted to $3.6 billion for Fiscal 1998. Net cash used by financing activities amounted to $1.0 billion for Fiscal 1997. Net cash provided by financing activities amounted to $2.4 billion for Fiscal 1996. The increase or decrease in cash flow from financing activities was primarily the result of net short-term and long-term debt issuance or repayment by the Company. PROSPECTIVE TRENDS Applications and Pipeline of Loans in Process During Fiscal 1998, the Company received new loan applications at an average daily rate of $306 million and at February 28, 1998, the Company's pipeline of loans in process was $12.6 billion. This compares to a daily application rate in Fiscal 1997 of $206 million and a pipeline of loans in process at February 28, 1997 of $4.7 billion. The size of the pipeline is generally an indication of the level of future fundings, as historically 43% to 77% of the pipeline of loans in process has funded. In addition, the Company's LOCK `N SHOP(R) Pipeline at February 28, 1998 was $1.4 billion and at February 28, 1997 was $1.8 billion. For the month ended March 31, 1998, the average daily rate of applications received was $497 million, and at March 31, 1998, the pipeline of loans in process was $13.9 billion and the LOCK `N SHOP Pipeline was $1.6 billion. Future application levels and loan fundings are dependent on numerous factors, including the level of demand for mortgage credit, the extent of price competition in the market, the direction of interest rates, seasonal factors and general economic conditions. Market Factors Loan production increased 29% from Fiscal 1997 to Fiscal 1998. This increase was primarily due to several factors. First, mortgage interest rates generally decreased in Fiscal 1998. Second, sub-prime and home equity loan fundings, which are generally less sensitive to interest rate fluctuations than prime credit quality first mortgages, increased from Fiscal 1997 to Fiscal 1998. Further, home purchase market activity was stronger during Fiscal 1998 than in Fiscal 1997. The prepayment rate in the servicing portfolio increased from Fiscal 1997 to Fiscal 1998 because interest rates were lower in Fiscal 1998 than in Fiscal 1997. The Company's primary competitors are commercial banks, savings and loans, mortgage banking subsidiaries of diversified companies, as well as other mortgage bankers. Over the past three years, certain commercial banks have expanded their mortgage banking operations through acquisition of formerly independent mortgage banking companies or through internal growth. The Company believes that these transactions and activities have not had a material impact on the Company or on the degree of competitive pricing in the market. The Company's California mortgage loan production (measured by principal balance) constituted 26% of its total production during Fiscal 1998 and 25% during Fiscal 1997. The Company is continuing its efforts to expand its production capacity outside of California. Some regions in which the Company operates have experienced slower economic growth, and real estate financing activity in these regions has been negatively impacted. As a result, home lending activity for single- (one-to-four) family residences in these regions may also have experienced slower growth. To the extent that any geographic region's mortgage loan production constitutes a significant portion of the Company's production, there can be no assurance that the Company's operations will not be adversely affected if that region experiences slow or negative economic growth resulting in decreased residential real estate lending activity, or market factors further impact the Company's competitive position in that region. The delinquency rate in the Company-owned servicing portfolio increased to 3.91% at February 28, 1998 from 3.44% at February 28, 1997. The Company believes that this increase was primarily the result of changes in portfolio mix and aging. The proportion of government and high loan-to-value conventional loans, which tend to experience higher delinquency rates than low loan-to-value conventional loans, was 48% of the portfolio at February 28, 1998 and February 28, 1997. In addition, the weighted average age of the portfolio is 31 months at February 28, 1998, up from 27 months at February 28, 1997. Delinquency rates tend to increase as loans age, reaching a peak at three to five years of age. However, because the loans in the portfolio are generally serviced on a non-recourse basis, the Company's exposure to credit loss resulting from increased delinquency rates is substantially limited. Further, related late charge income has historically been sufficient to offset incremental servicing expenses resulting from an increased delinquency rate. The percentage of loans in the Company's owned servicing portfolio that are in foreclosure decreased to 0.45% at February 28, 1998 from 0.71% at February 28, 1997. The Company sold $644 million of defaulted mortgage loans on February 27, 1998. See "Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, Note A, Investment in Non-Consolidated Subsidiaries". Generally, the Company is not exposed to credit risk. Because the Company services substantially all conventional loans on a non-recourse basis, foreclosure losses are generally the responsibility of the investor or insurer and not the Company. The Company retains credit risk on the home equity and sub-prime loans it sells in the form of pools backing securities. As such, through retention of a subordinated interest in the trust, the Company bears primary responsibility for credit losses on the loans. At February 28, 1998, the Company had investments in such subordinated interests amounting to $251 million, which represents the maximum exposure to credit losses on the securitized home equity and sub-prime loans. While the Company generally does not retain credit risk with respect to the prime credit quality first mortgage loans it sells, it does have potential liability under representations and warranties made to purchasers and insurers of the loans. In the event of a breach of the representations and warranties, the Company may be required to repurchase a mortgage loan and any subsequent loss on the mortgage loan may be borne by the Company. Similarly, government loans serviced by the Company (29% of the Company's servicing portfolio at February 28, 1998) are insured by the Federal Housing Administration or partially guaranteed against loss by the Department of Veterans Administration. The Company is exposed to credit losses to the extent that the partial guarantee provided by the Department of Veterans Administration is inadequate to cover the total credit losses incurred. Servicing Hedge As previously discussed, the Company's Servicing Hedge is designed to protect the value of its investment in servicing rights from the effects of increased prepayment activity that generally results from declining interest rates. In periods of increasing interest rates, the value of the Servicing Hedge generally declines and the value of MSRs generally increases. There can be no assurance that, in periods of increasing interest rates, the increase in value of the MSRs will offset the amount of Servicing Hedge expense; or in periods of declining interest rates, that the Company's Servicing Hedge will generate gains, or if gains are generated, that they will fully offset impairment of the MSRs. Implementation of New Accounting Standards In June 1997, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 130, Reporting Comprehensive Income ("SFAS No. 130"). SFAS No. 130 establishes standards for reporting and presentation of comprehensive income and its components in a full set of general-purpose financial statements. This Statement requires that an enterprise classify items of other comprehensive income by their nature in a financial statement and show the accumulated balance of other comprehensive income separately from retained earnings and additional paid-in capital in the equity section of a statement of financial position. The Statement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1997. Reclassification of financial statements for earlier periods provided for comparative purposes is required. The impact of the adoption of this statement is disclosure related and therefore Management believes that the adoption will not have a material impact on the Company. In June 1997, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 131, Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information ("SFAS No. 131"). SFAS No. 131 establishes standards for the manner in which public business enterprises report information about operating segments in annual financial statements and requires that those enterprises report selected information about operating segments in interim financial reports issued to shareholders. This Statement requires that a public business enterprise report financial and descriptive information about its reportable operating segments. The Statement also establishes standards for related disclosure about products and services, geographic areas, and major customers. This Statement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1997. In the initial year of application comparative information for earlier years is to be restated. This Statement need not be applied to interim financial statements in the initial year of its application. The impact of the adoption of this statement is disclosure related and therefore Management believes that the adoption will not have a material impact on the Company. In February 1998, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 132, Employers' Disclosure about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits ("SFAS No. 132"), an amendment of FASB Statements No. 87, 88, and 106. SFAS No. 132 revises employers' disclosures about pension and other postretirement benefit plans. It does not change the measurement or recognition of those plans. This Statement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1997. Restatement of disclosures for earlier periods provided for comparative purposes is required. The impact of the adoption of this statement is disclosure related and therefore Management believes that the adoption will not have a material impact on the Company. Year 2000 Compliance The Company has and will continue to make investments to ensure compliance with issues associated with the change of the millennium. These costs are being expensed by the Company during the period in which they are incurred. The financial impact to the Company of implementing the systems changes necessary to become Year 2000 compliant has not been and is not anticipated to be material to its financial position or results of operations in any given year. However, the Company's expectations about future costs associated with the Year 2000 are subject to uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations. Factors that could influence the amount and timing of future costs include the success of the Company in identifying systems and programs that are not Year 2000 compliant, the nature and amount of programming required to upgrade or replace each of the affected programs, the availability, rate and magnitude of related labor and consulting costs and the success of the Company's business partners, vendors and clients in addressing the Year 2000 issue. Item 7A. QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK In response to this Item, the information set forth on page 30 and F-10 in the Annual Report is incorporated herein by reference. ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA The information called for by this Item 8 is hereby incorporated by reference from the Company's Financial Statements and Auditors' Report beginning at page F-1 of this Form 10-K. ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE Not Applicable. PART III ITEM 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT The information required by this Item 10 is hereby incorporated by reference from the Company's definitive proxy statement, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year. ITEM 11. MANAGEMENT REMUNERATION AND TRANSACTIONS The information required by this Item 11 is hereby incorporated by reference from the Company's definitive proxy statement, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year. ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGERS The information required by this Item 12 is hereby incorporated by reference from the Company's definitive proxy statement, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year. ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS The information required by this Item 13 is hereby incorporated by reference from the Company's definitive proxy statement, to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year. PART IV ITEM 14. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K (a)(1) and (2) - Financial Statement Schedules. The information called for by this section of Item 14 is set forth in the Financial Statements and Auditors' Report beginning at page F-1 of this Form 10-K. The index to Financial Statements and Schedules is set forth at page F-2 of this Form 10-K. Exhibit No. Description ----------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2.1 Agreement and Plan of Merger Among CWM Mortgage Holdings, Inc., Countrywide Asset Management Corporation and Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. 3.1* Certificate of Amendment of Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1987). 3.2* Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1987). 3.3* Bylaws of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc., as amended and restated (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 10, 1988). 3.3.1 Amendment to Bylaws of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. dated January 28, 1998. 3.3.2 Amendment to Bylaws of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. dated February 3, 1998. 4.1* Rights Agreement, dated as of February 10, 1988, between Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. and Bank of America NT & SA, as Rights Agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4 to the Company's Form 8-A filed pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on February 12, 1988). 4.1.1* Amendment No. 1 to Rights Agreement dated as of March 24, 1992 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1 to the Company's Form 8 filed with the SEC on March 27, 1992). 4.2* Specimen Certificate of the Company's Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Current Company's Report on Form 8-K dated February 6, 1987). 4.3* Specimen Debenture Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 6, 1987). 4.4* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series A (fixed-rate) of Countrywide Funding Corporation (now known as Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.) ("CHL") (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-3 (File Nos. 33-44194 and 33-44194-1) filed with the SEC on November 27, 1991). 4.5* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series A (floating-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-3 (File Nos. 33-44194 and 33-44194-1) filed with the SEC on November 27, 1991). 4.6* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series B (fixed-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 33-51816) filed with the SEC on September 9, 1992). 4.7* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series B (floating-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 33-51816) filed with the SEC on September 9, 1992). 4.8* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series C (fixed-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of CHL and the Company (File Nos. 33-50661 and 33-50661-01) filed with the SEC on October 19, 1993). 4.9* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series C (floating-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of CHL and the Company (File Nos. 33-50661 and 33-50661-01) filed with the SEC on October 19, 1993). 4.10*Indenture dated as of January 1, 1992 among CHL, the Company and The Bank of New York, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of CHL and the Company (File Nos. 33-50661 and 33-50661-01) filed with the SEC on October 19, 1993). 4.10.1* Form of Supplemental Indenture No. 1 dated as of June 15, 1995, to the Indenture dated as of January 1, 1992, among CHL, the Company, and The Bank of New York, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.9 to Amendment No. 2 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 33-59559 and 33-59559-01) filed with the SEC on June 16, 1995). 4.11*Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series D (fixed-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.10 to Amendment No. 2 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 33-59559 and 33-59559-01) filed with the SEC on June 16, 1995). 4.12*Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series D (floating-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.11 to Amendment No. 2 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 33-59559 and 33-59559-01) filed with the SEC on June 16, 1995). 4.13*Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series E (fixed-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 333-3835 and 333-3835-01) filed with the SEC on August 2, 1996). 4.14*Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series E (floating rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 333-3835 and 333-3835-01) filed with the SEC on August 2, 1996). + 10.1*Indemnity Agreements with Directors and Officers of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Report on Form 8-K dated February 6, 1987). + 10.2*Restated Employment Agreement for David S. Loeb dated March 26, 1996 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.3* Restated Employment Agreement for Angelo R Mozilo dated March 26, 1996 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.3.1 Amendment Number One to Restated Employment Agreement for Angelo R. Mozilo. + 10.3.2 Amendment Number Two to Restated Employment Agreement for Angelo R. Mozilo. + 10.4 Employment Agreement for Stanford L. Kurland dated May 7, 1996 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.5*Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. Deferred Compensation Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 5.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1987). + 10.6*Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan for Key Management Employees dated April 15, 1992 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.7 Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan Amended and Restated Effective January 1, 1998. 10.8* Revolving Credit Agreement dated as of the 24th day of September, 1997, by and among Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Bankers Trust Company, The First National Bank of Chicago, The Bank of New York, Chase Securities Inc., The Chase Manhattan Bank and the Lenders Party Thereto. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company's Quarterly report on Form 10-Q August 31, 1997) + 10.9* Severance Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1988). + 10.10* Key Executive Equity Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1988). + 10.11* 1987 Stock Option Plan, as Amended and Restated on May 15, 1989 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1989). + 10.11.1* First Amendment to the 1987 Stock Option Plan as Amended and Restated.(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.11.2*Second Amendment to the 1987 Stock Option Plan as Amended and Restated. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-K dated November 30, 1997) + 10.11.3*Third Amendment to the 1987 Stock Option Plan as Amended and Restated. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.3 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.12* 1986 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). + 10.13* 1985 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). + 10.14* 1984 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). + 10.15* 1982 Incentive Stock Option Plan as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibits 10.2 - 10.5 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). + 10.16* Amended and Restated Stock Option Financing Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). 10.17* 1995 Amended and Extended Management Agreement, dated as of May 15, 1995, between CWM Mortgage Holdings, Inc. ("CWM") and Countrywide Asset Management Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1995). 10.18* 1987 Amended and Restated Servicing Agreement, dated as of May 15, 1987, between CWM and CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1990). 10.19* 1995 Amended and Restated Loan Purchase and Administrative Services Agreement, dated as of May 15, 1995, between CWM and CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1995). + 10.20* 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 29, 1992). + 10.20.1* First Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.20.2* Second Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.2 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.20.3* Third Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.3 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.20.4* Fourth Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.4 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.20.5* Fifth Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.5 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1995). + 10.20.6* Sixth Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20.6 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.20.7* Seventh Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20.7 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.21* 1992 Stock Option Plan dated as of December 22, 1992 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.5 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.21.1* First Amendment to the 1992 Stock Option Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.21.2* First Amendment to the 1992 Stock Option Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.22* Amended and Restated 1993 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.22.1* First Amendment to the Amended and Restated 1993 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.22.2* Second Amendment to the Amendment and Restated 1993 Stock Option Plan.(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.22.3 Third Amendment to the Amendment and Restated 1993 Stock Option Plan. + 10.23* Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan effective March 1, 1994 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1994). + 10.23.1 Amended and Restated Supplemental Retirement Plan. + 10.24* Split-Dollar Life Insurance Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1994). + 10.25* Split-Dollar Collateral Assignment (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1994). + 10.26* Annual Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.27 Change in Control Severance Plan 11.1 Statement Regarding Computation of Earnings Per Share. 12.1 Computation of the Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges. 22.1 List of subsidiaries. 23. Consent of Grant Thornton LLP. 27 Financial Data Schedules (included only with the electronic filing with the SEC) ------------------------- *Incorporated by reference. +Constitutes a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement. SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. By: /s/ DAVID S. LOEB ------------------------------------- David S. Loeb, Chairman and President Dated: May 28, 1998 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated. Signatures Title Date /s/ DAVID S. LOEB President, Chairman of the Board of May 28, 1998 ----------------------- Directors and Director (Principal ----------------------- Executive Officer) David S. Loeb /s/ ANGELO R. MOZILO Chief Executive Officer and Director May 28, 1998 - - ------------------------- - - ------------------------- Angelo R. Mozilo /s/ STANFORD L. KURLAND Senior Managing Director and Chief May 28, 1998 - - ------------------------- Operating Officer - - ------------------------- Stanford L. Kurland /s/ CARLOS M. GARCIA Managing Director; Chief Financial May 28, 1998 ----------------------- Officer and Chief Accounting Officer Carlos M. Garcia (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) /s/ ROBERT J. DONATO Director May 28, 1998 - - ------------------------- Robert J. Donato /s/ BEN M. ENIS Director May 28, 1998 - - ------------------------- - - ------------------------- Ben M. Enis /s/ EDWIN HELLER Director May 28, 1998 - - ------------------------- Edwin Heller /s/ HARLEY W. SNYDER Director May 28, 1998 - - ------------------------- Harley W. Snyder /s/ JEFFREY M. CUNNINGHAM Director May 28, 1998 - - -------------------------- Jeffrey M. Cunningham F-1 COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND REPORT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS For Inclusion in Form 10-K Annual Report Filed with Securities and Exchange Commission February 28, 1998 COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SCHEDULES February 28, 1998 Page ---------------- Report of Independent Certified Public Accountants.................. F-3 Financial Statement Consolidated Balance Sheets................................. F-4 Consolidated Statements of Earnings............................. F-5 Consolidated Statement of Common Shareholders' Equity........... F-6 Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows........................... F-7 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements...................... F-8 Schedules Schedule I - Condensed Financial Information of Registrant...... F-34 Schedule II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts................. F-37 All other schedules have been omitted since the required information is not present or not present in amounts sufficient to require submission of the schedules, or because the information required is included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto. REPORT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS Board of Directors and Shareholders Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of February 28, 1998 and 1997, and the related consolidated statements of earnings, common shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three year period ended February 28, 1998. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of February 28, 1998 and 1997, and the consolidated results of their operations and their consolidated cash flows for each of the years in the three year period ended February 28, 1998, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. We have also audited Schedules I and II for each of the years in the three year period ended February 28, 1998. In our opinion, such schedules present fairly, in all material respects, the information required to be set forth therein. GRANT THORNTON LLP Los Angeles, California May 4, 1998 COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS February 28, (Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data) A S S E T S 1998 1997 ------------------ ------------------- Cash $ 10,707 $ 18,269 Mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities held for sale 5,292,191 2,579,972 Property, equipment and leasehold improvements, at cost - net of accumulated depreciation and amortization 226,330 190,104 Mortgage servicing rights, net 3,612,010 3,023,826 Other assets 3,077,943 1,876,919 ------------------ ------------------- Total assets $12,219,181 $7,689,090 ================== =================== Borrower and investor custodial accounts (segregated in special accounts - excluded from corporate assets) $3,945,606 $1,695,523 ================== =================== LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Notes payable $7,475,221 $4,713,324 Drafts payable issued in connection with mortgage loan closings 764,285 221,757 Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other 518,648 206,835 Deferred income taxes 873,084 635,643 ------------------ ------------------- Total liabilities 9,631,238 5,777,559 Commitments and contingencies - - Company-obligated mandatorily redeemable capital trust pass-through securities of subsidiary trusts holding solely Company guaranteed related subordinated debt 500,000 300,000 Shareholders' equity Preferred stock - authorized, 1,500,000 shares of $0.05 par value; issued and outstanding, none - - Common stock - authorized, 240,000,000 shares of $0.05 par value; issued and outstanding, 109,205,579 shares in 1998 and 106,095,558 shares in 1997 5,460 5,305 Additional paid-in capital 1,049,365 917,942 Unrealized gain (loss) on available for sale securities 3,697 (30,545) Retained earnings 1,029,421 718,829 ------------------ ------------------- Total shareholders' equity 2,087,943 1,611,531 ------------------ ------------------- Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $12,219,181 $7,689,090 ================== =================== Borrower and investor custodial accounts $3,945,606 $1,695,523 ================== =================== The accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements. COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS Year ended February 28(29), (Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data) 1998 1997 1996 ---------------- -------------- -------------- Revenues Loan origination fees $ 301,389 $ 193,079 $199,724 Gain on sale of loans, net of commitment fees 417,427 247,450 92,341 ---------------- -------------- -------------- Loan production revenue 718,816 440,529 292,065 Interest earned 440,058 350,263 308,449 Interest charges (424,341) (316,705) (281,573) ---------------- -------------- -------------- Net interest income 15,717 33,558 26,876 Loan servicing income 907,674 773,715 620,835 Amortization and impairment/recovery of mortgage servicing rights (561,804) (101,380) (342,811) Servicing hedge benefit (expense) 232,959 (125,306) 200,135 ---------------- -------------- -------------- Net loan administration income 578,829 547,029 478,159 Commissions, fees and other income 138,217 91,346 63,642 Gain on sale of subsidiary 57,381 - - ---------------- -------------- -------------- Total revenues 1,508,960 1,112,462 860,742 Expenses Salaries and related expenses 424,321 286,884 229,668 Occupancy and other office expenses 184,338 129,877 106,298 Guarantee fees 172,692 159,360 121,197 Marketing expenses 42,320 34,255 27,115 Other operating expenses 119,743 80,188 50,264 ---------------- -------------- -------------- Total expenses 943,414 690,564 534,542 ---------------- -------------- -------------- Earnings before income taxes 565,546 421,898 326,200 Provision for income taxes 220,563 164,540 130,480 ---------------- -------------- -------------- NET EARNINGS $ 344,983 $ 257,358 $195,720 ================ ============== ============== Earnings per share Basic $3.21 $2.50 $1.99 Diluted $3.09 $2.44 $1.95 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements. COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMMON SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Three years ended February 28, 1998 (Dollar amounts in thousands) Unrealized Gain (Loss) Additional on Number Common Paid-in- Available-for-SalRetained of Shares Stock Capital Securities Earnings Total -------------- -------------------------- -------------- ------------- --------------- Balance at February 28, 1995 91,370,364 $4,568 $608,289 $ - $329,701 $942,558 Issuance of common stock 10,000,000 500 200,775 - - 201,275 Cash dividends paid - common - - - - (30,961) (30,961) Stock options exercised 752,380 38 6,686 - - 6,724 Tax benefit of stock options exercised - - 1,963 - - 1,963 Dividend reinvestment plan 33,345 2 697 - - 699 401(k) Plan contribution 86,240 4 1,773 - - 1,777 Net earnings for the year - - - - 195,720 195,720 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Balance at February 29, 1996 102,242,329 5,112 820,183 - 494,460 1,319,755 Cash dividends paid - common - - - - (32,989) (32,989) Stock options exercised 1,000,798 50 15,337 - - 15,387 Tax benefit of stock options exercised - - 3,656 - - 3,656 Dividend reinvestment plan 2,198,563 110 60,040 - - 60,150 401(k) Plan contribution 79,878 4 2,038 - - 2,042 Issuance of common stock in business - acquisition 573,990 29 16,688 - - 16,717 Unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities - - - (30,545) - (30,545) Net earnings for the year - - - - 257,358 257,358 -- --- - - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- Balance at February 28, 1997 106,095,558 5,305 917,942 (30,545) 718,829 1,611,531 Cash dividends paid - common - - - - (34,391) (34,391) Stock options exercised 839,479 42 14,645 - - 14,687 Tax benefit of stock options exercised - - 5,378 - - 5,378 Dividend reinvestment plan 2,179,939 109 108,511 - - 108,620 401(k) Plan contribution 90,603 4 2,889 - - 2,893 Unrealized gain on available-for-sale securities - - - 34,242 - 34,242 Net earnings for the year - - - - 344,983 344,983 -- --- - - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- Balance at February 28, 1998 109,205,579 $5,460 $1,049,365 $3,697 $1,029,421 $2,087,943 ============================================================================================================================== The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement. COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS Increase (Decrease) in Cash Year ended February 28(29), (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 1996 ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Cash flows from operating activities: Net earnings $344,983 $ 257,358 $ 195,720 Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided (used) by operating activities: Gain on sale of subsidiary (57,381) - - Gain on sale of available-for-sale securities (16,749) - - Amortization and impairment/recovery of mortgage servicing rights 561,804 101,380 342,811 Depreciation and other amortization 44,930 40,378 30,545 Deferred income taxes 220,563 164,540 130,480 Origination and purchase of loans held for sale (48,771,673) (37,810,761) (34,583,653) Principal repayments and sale of loans 46,059,454 39,970,876 32,742,391 ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Decrease (increase) in mortgage loans and mortgage- backed securities held for sale (2,712,219) 2,160,115 (1,841,262) Increase in other receivables and other assets (1,144,103) (833,837) (592,164) Increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities 302,404 96,712 269,531 ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Net cash provided (used) by operating activities (2,455,768) 1,986,646 (1,464,339) ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Cash flows from investing activities: Additions to mortgage servicing rights (1,149,988) (858,912) (869,579) Purchase of property, equipment and leasehold improvements - net (70,896) (77,294) (19,003) Proceeds from sale of available-for-sale securities 72,747 - - ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Net cash used by investing activities (1,148,137) (936,206) (888,582) ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Cash flows from financing activities: Net (decrease) increase in warehouse debt and other short-term borrowings 1,513,974 (1,924,308) 1,742,290 Issuance of long-term debt 1,973,198 637,624 526,500 Repayment of long-term debt (182,747) (113,773) (96,563) Issuance of Company - obligated mandatorily redeemable capital trust pass-through securities of subsidiary trust holding solely a Company guaranteed related subordinated debt 200,000 300,000 - Issuance of common stock 126,309 84,831 210,475 Cash dividends paid (34,391) (32,989) (30,961) ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Net cash (used) provided by financing activities 3,596,343 (1,048,615) 2,351,741 ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Net increase (decrease) in cash (7,562) 1,825 (1,180) Cash at beginning of period 18,269 16,444 17,624 ================ ================ ================ Cash at end of period $ 10,707 $ 18,269 $ 16,444 ================ ================ ================ Supplemental cash flow information: Cash used to pay interest $ 422,969 $ 309,575 $ 317,156 Cash used to pay (refund from) income taxes $ (1,645) $ 15 $ 54 Noncash financing activities: Issuance of common stock in business acquisition $ - $ 16,717 $ - Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities, net of tax $ 34,242 $( $ - 30,545) The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement. COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS NOTE A - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. (the "Company") is a holding company, which through its principal subsidiary, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. ("CHL"), is engaged primarily in the mortgage banking business and as such originates, purchases, sells and services mortgage loans throughout the United States. In preparing financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. A summary of the Company's significant accounting policies consistently applied in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements follows. Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the parent and all wholly-owned subsidiaries required to be consolidated under generally accepted accounting principles. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. Mortgage Loans Held for Sale Mortgage loans held for sale are carried at the lower of cost or market, which is computed by the aggregate method (unrealized losses are offset by unrealized gains). The cost of mortgage loans and the carrying value of mortgage-backed securities ("MBS") held for sale in the near-term are adjusted by gains and losses generated from corresponding closed hedging transactions entered into to protect the inventory value from increases in interest rates. Hedge positions are also used to protect the pipeline of loan applications in process from changes in interest rates. Gains and losses resulting from changes in the market value of the inventory, pipeline and open hedge positions are netted. Any net gain that results is deferred; any net loss that results is recognized when incurred. Hedging gains and losses realized during the commitment and warehousing period related to the pipeline and mortgage loans held for sale are deferred. Hedging losses are recognized currently if deferring such losses would result in mortgage loans held for sale and the pipeline being valued in excess of their estimated net realizable value. Property, Equipment and Leasehold Improvements Property, equipment and leasehold improvements are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation is provided in amounts sufficient to relate the cost of depreciable assets to operations over their estimated service lives using the straight-line method. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the life of the lease or service lives of the improvements using the straight-line method. COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued) F-14 NOTE A - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued) Mortgage Servicing Rights, Amortization and Impairment The Company recognizes as separate assets the rights to service mortgage loans for others, whether the servicing rights are acquired through a separate purchase or through loan origination by allocating total costs incurred between the loan and the servicing rights retained based on their relative fair values. Amortization of mortgage servicing rights ("MSRs") is based on the ratio of net servicing income received in the current period to total net servicing income projected to be realized from the MSRs. Projected net servicing income is in turn determined on the basis of the estimated future balance of the underlying mortgage loan portfolio, which declines over time from prepayments and scheduled loan amortization. The Company estimates future prepayment rates based on current interest rate levels, other economic conditions and market forecasts, as well as relevant characteristics of the servicing portfolio, such as loan types, interest rate stratification and recent prepayment experience. MSRs are periodically assessed for impairment, which is recognized in the statement of income during the period in which impairment occurs as an adjustment to the corresponding valuation allowance. For purposes of performing its impairment evaluation, the Company stratifies its portfolio on the basis of certain risk characteristics including loan type (fixed or adjustable) and note rate. The Company acquires financial instruments, including derivative contracts, that change in aggregate value inversely to the movement of interest rates (the "Servicing Hedge"). These financial instruments include interest rate floors, options on interest rate futures and MBS, interest rate futures, interest rate swaps with the Company's maximum payment capped ("Capped Swaps"), interest rate swaps, interest rate caps, options on interest rate swaps ("Swaptions"), options on callable pass-through certificates ("options on CPC"), principal-only ("P/O") swaps and certain tranches of collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs"). The Servicing Hedge is designed to protect the value of the MSRs from the effects of increased prepayment activity that generally results from declining interest rates. The value of the interest rate floors, options on interest rate futures, Capped Swaps, interest rate caps, Swaptions, options on CPC and P/O swaps is derived from an underlying instrument or index; however, the notional or contractual amount is not recognized in the balance sheet. The cost of these instruments is charged to expense (and deducted from net loan administration income) over the life of the contract. Unamortized costs are included in Other Assets in the balance sheet. The basis of the MSRs is adjusted for realized and unrealized gains and losses in the derivative financial instruments that qualify for hedge accounting. For the year ended February 28, 1998, the net benefit of $233.0 million from the Servicing Hedge included a net unrealized gain of $182.2 million and a net realized gain of $50.8 million from the sale of various derivative financial instruments and premium amortization. For the year ended February 28, 1997, the Servicing Hedge expense included an unrealized loss of $56.9 million and a realized loss of $68.4 million from premium amortization and sale of various derivative financial instruments. Prior to January 1, 1997, amortization of capitalized servicing fees receivable was based on the decline during the period in the present value of the projected excess servicing fees using the same discount rate as that implied by the price that investors were willing to pay for the excess servicing fees at the time of the loan sale. NOTE A - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued) Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk The primary market risk facing the Company is interest rate risk. From an enterprise perspective, the Company manages this risk by striving to balance its loan origination and loan servicing business segments, which are counter cyclical in nature. In addition, the Company utilizes various financial instruments, including derivatives contracts, to manage the interest rate risk related specifically to its committed pipeline, mortgage loan inventory and MBS held for sale, MSRs, mortgage-backed securities retained in securitizations and debt securities. The overall objective of the Company's interest rate risk management policies is to offset changes in the values of these items resulting from changes in interest rates. The Company does not speculate on the direction of interest rates in its management of interest rate risk. To qualify for hedge accounting, the derivative contract positions must be designated as a hedge and effective in reducing the market risk of an existing asset, liability or pipeline of applications in process. The effectiveness of the derivative contracts is evaluated on an initial and ongoing basis using quantitative measures of correlation. If a derivative contract is no longer effective, it no longer qualifies as a hedge and any gains and losses attributable to such ineffectiveness, as well as any subsequent changes in fair value, are recognized currently in earnings. If a derivative contract is sold, matures or is terminated, any resulting intrinsic gain or loss is deferred and amortized as part of the basis of the asset being hedged, provided that the effectiveness criteria is met. Unamortized premiums associated with the time value of such contracts are recognized in income. If an underlying designated item is no longer held, any previously unrecognized gain or loss on the related derivative is recognized in earnings and the derivative contract is subsequently accounted for at fair value. Trading Securities The Company's MBS held for sale in the near term are classified as trading securities and included with mortgage loans on the consolidated balance sheet. Trading securities are recorded at fair value, with the change in fair value during the period included in earnings. The fair value of MBS held for sale in the near term is based on quoted market prices. Included in Other Assets are mortgage-backed securities retained in the Company's securtizations and classified as trading securities. These securities primarily consist of interest-only and P/O certificates on prime credit quality first mortgage loans and sub-prime and home equity residuals ("Residuals"). The timing and amount of cash flows on these securities are significantly influenced by prepayments on the underlying loans and estimated foreclosure losses to the extent the Company has retained the risk of such losses. The fair value of these securities is determined by discounting future cash flows using discount rates that approximate current market rates. At February 28, 1998, the Company used discount rates for sub-prime and home equity mortgage-backed residuals of 20% and 15%, respectively; annual prepayment estimates of 20% to 48% and 30%, respectively; and lifetime credit loss estimates of 0.5% to 4.6% and 1.3% of the original principal balances of the underlying loans, respectively. The change in fair value during the period is included in earnings. Financial instruments held by the Company's broker-dealer subsidiary are included in Other Assets. These financial instruments, including derivative contracts, are recorded at fair value on a trade date basis, and gains and losses, both realized and unrealized, are included in Gain on Sale of Loans. NOTE A - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued) Available for Sale Securities The Company has designated its investments in certain tranches of CMOs and certain other equity securities as available for sale securities which are measured at fair value and are included in Other Assets. Unrealized gains or losses, net of deferred income taxes, are excluded from earnings and reported as a separate component of shareholders' equity until realized. Realized gains and losses on sales of securities are computed by the specific identification method at the time of disposition and are recorded in earnings. Unrealized losses that are other than temporary are recognized in earnings. Loan Origination Fees Loan fees, discount points and certain direct origination costs are recorded as an adjustment of the cost of the loan and are included in loan origination fees when the loan is sold. Deferred Commitment Fees Deferred commitment fees, included in Other Assets, primarily consist of fees paid to permanent investors to ensure the ultimate sale of loans and net put and call option fees paid for the option of selling or buying MBS. Fees paid to permanent investors are recognized as an adjustment to the sales price when the loans are shipped and option fees are amortized over the life of the option to reflect the decline in its time value. Any unamortized option fees are charged to income when the related option is exercised. Investment In Non-Consolidated Subsidiaries On February 27, 1998, the Company capitalized CWHL Funding, Inc., a bankruptcy remote, wholly-owned subsidiary. This subsidiary was established to facilitate the sale of certain defaulted mortgage loans repurchased in the ordinary course of business from Government National Mortgage Association mortgage-backed securities serviced by the Company. This subsidiary qualifies as a special-purpose entity and meets the requirements for non-consolidation under generally accepted accounting principles. At February 28, 1998, CWHL Funding Inc. had a residual interest equal to the initial capitalization of $40 million and an advance from the Company of $16 million held in reserve for the beneficial interest holders of the assets in trust. Interest Income Recognition Interest income is accrued as earned. Loans are placed on non-accrual status when any portion of principal or interest is ninety days past due or earlier when concern exists as to the ultimate collectibility of principal or interest. Loans return to accrual status when principal and interest become current and are anticipated to be fully collectible. NOTE A - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued) Loan Servicing Income Loan servicing income represents fees earned for servicing residential mortgage loans for investors and related ancillary income, including late charges. Servicing income is recognized as earned, unless collection is doubtful. Interest Rate Swap Agreements The amount to be received or paid under the interest rate swap agreements associated with the Company's debt and custodial accounts is accrued and is recognized as an adjustment to net interest income. The related amount payable to or receivable from counterparties is included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities. Advertising Costs The Company generally charges to expense the production costs of advertising the first time the advertising takes place, except for direct-response advertising, which is capitalized and amortized over the expected period of future benefits. Advertising expense was $32.6 million and $26.6 million for the years ended February 28, 1998 and 1997, respectively. Stock-Based Compensation The Company grants stock options for a fixed number of shares to employees with an exercise price equal to the fair value of the shares at the date of grant. The Company recognizes compensation cost related to its stock option plans only to the extent that the fair value of the shares at the grant date exceeds the exercise price. Income Taxes The Company utilizes an asset and liability approach in its accounting for income taxes. This approach requires the recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis carrying amounts of assets and liabilities. Earnings Per Share On February 28, 1998, the Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 128, Earnings per Share, ("SFAS No. 128") which supersedes Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 15, of the same name. SFAS No. 128 simplifies the standards for computing earnings per share ("EPS") and makes them comparable to international standards. SFAS No. 128 was effective for financial statements issued for periods ending after December 15, 1997, with earlier application not permitted. Upon adoption, all prior EPS data was restated. Basic EPS is determined using net income divided by the weighted average shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average shares outstanding, assuming all dilutive potential common shares were issued. NOTE A - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued) The following table presents basic and diluted EPS for the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, computed under the provisions of SFAS No. 128. - - ------------------------ --------- --------- --------- -- - ----------------------------- -- -- ------- ---------- ----- Years ended February 28(29), --------- --------- --------- -- - ----------------------------- -- -- ------- ---------- ----- 1998 1997 1996 --------- --------- --------- ---------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- Per-Share Per-Share Per-Share (Amounts in thousands, Net Amount Net Amount Net Amount except per share data) Earnings Shares Earnings Shares Earnings Shares - - ------------------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ========= ========== ========= Net earnings $344,983 $257,358 $195,720 ========= ========== ========= Basic EPS Net earnings available to common shareholders $344,983 107,491 $3.21 $257,358 103,112 $2.50 $195,720 98,352 $1.99 Effect of Dilutive - Stock Options 4,035 - 2,565 1,918 --------- --------- ---------- --------- --------- --------- Diluted EPS Net earnings available to common shareholders $344,983 111,526 $3.09 $257,358 105,677 $2.44 $195,720 100,270 $1.95 ========= ========= ========= ========== ========= ========= ========= ========= --------- - - ------------------------ --------- --------- --------- - ---------- --------- --------- -- --------- --------- --------- Financial Statement Reclassifications and Restatement Certain amounts reflected in the Consolidated Financial Statements for the years ended February 28(29), 1997 and 1996 have been reclassified to conform to the presentation for the year ended February 28, 1998. NOTE B - PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT AND LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS Property, equipment and leasehold improvements consisted of the following. ------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- February 28, ----------------- -- -------------- ----- (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------- -- -------------- ----- Buildings $ 84,526 $ 69,786 Office equipment 223,792 176,957 Leasehold improvements 28,136 26,853 ----------------- -------------- 336,454 273,596 Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization (133,353) (102,259) ----------------- -------------- 203,101 171,337 Land 23,229 18,767 ================= ============== $226,330 $190,104 ================= ============== ------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ----------------- -- -------------- ----- Depreciation expense and amortization amounted to $31.8 million, $29.0 million and $21.1 million for the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, respectively. NOTE C - MORTGAGE SERVICING RIGHTS The activity in mortgage servicing rights for the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996 was as follows. --------------------------------------------- -- ------------------------------------------------------------- February 28(29), ---------------- --- ---------------- --- ---------------- -- (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 1996 --------------------------------------------- -- ---------------- --- ---------------- --- ---------------- -- Mortgage Servicing Rights Balance at beginning of period $3,026,494 $2,385,299 $1,796,897 Additions 1,149,988 858,912 869,579 Scheduled amortization (300,312) (220,099) (168,017) Hedge losses (gains) applied (222,852) 59,753 (113,160) Reclassification of rights in excess of minimum contractually specified servicing fees - (57,371) - ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Balance before valuation reserve at end of period 3,653,318 3,026,494 2,385,299 ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Reserve for Impairment of Mortgage Servicing Rights Balance at beginning of period (2,668) (61,634) - Reductions (additions) (38,640) 58,966 (61,634) ---------------- ---------------- ---------------- Balance at end of period (41,308) ( 2,668) (61,634) ================ ================ ================ Mortgage Servicing Rights, net $3,612,010 $3,023,826 $2,323,665 ================ ================ ================ --------------------------------------------- -- ---------------- --- ---------------- --- ---------------- -- The estimated fair value of recognized mortgage servicing rights was $3.7 billion and $3.1 billion at February 28, 1998 and 1997, respectively. The fair value was determined by discounting estimated net future cash flows from mortgage servicing activities using discount and prepayment rates that approximate current market rates. NOTE D - OTHER ASSETS Other assets at February 28, 1998 and 1997 included the following. ---------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- February 28, ----------------- --- ---------------- --- (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ----------------- --- ---------------- --- Servicing hedge instruments $ 801,335 $ 372,029 Mortgage-backed securities retained in securitization 466,259 293,030 Rewarehoused FHA and VA loans 426,407 556,571 Trading securities 255,216 130,915 Servicing related advances 231,437 159,107 Loans held for investment 115,713 66,780 Equity securities 96,152 8,400 Accrued interest 84,601 18,954 Receivables related to broker-dealer activities 148,976 51,574 Other 451,847 219,559 ----------------- ---------------- $3,077,943 $ 1,876,919 ================= ================ ------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ----------------- --- ---------------- --- NOTE E - AVAILABLE FOR SALE SECURITIES Amortized cost and fair value of available for sale securities as of February 28, 1998 and 1997 were as follows. -------------------------------- ---------------- - ------------------------------------ -- ---------------- --- February 28, 1998 ---------------- - ------------------------------------ -- ---------------- --- Gross Gross Amortized Unrealized Unrealized Fair (Dollar amounts in thousands) Cost Gains Losses Value -------------------------------- ---------------- - ----------------- - ---------------- -- ---------------- --- CMOs $204,234 $ - ($12,411) $191,823 Equity Securities 7,315 18,471 - 25,786 ================ ================= ================ ================ $211,549 $18,471 ($12,411) $217,609 ================ ================= ================ ================ -------------------------------- ---------------- - ----------------- - ---------------- -- ---------------- --- -------------------------------- ---------------- - ------------------------------------ -- ---------------- --- February 28, 1997 ---------------- - ------------------------------------ -- ---------------- --- Gross Gross Amortized Unrealized Unrealized Fair (Dollar amounts in thousands) Cost Gains Losses Value -------------------------------- ---------------- - ----------------- - ---------------- -- ---------------- --- CMOs $217,004 $ - ($50,074) $166,930 ================ ================= ================ ================ $217,004 - ($50,074) $166,930 ================ ================= ================ ================ - - ---------------- - ----------------- - ---------------- -- ---------------- --- NOTE F - NOTES PAYABLE Notes payable consisted of the following. ---------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- February 28, ----------------- --- ---------------- --- (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ----------------- --- ---------------- --- Commercial paper $2,119,330 $1,943,368 Medium-term notes, Series A, B, C, D, E and F 4,137,185 2,346,800 Repurchase agreements 181,121 220,637 Subordinated notes 200,000 200,000 Unsecured notes payable 835,000 - Other notes payable 2,585 2,519 ================= ================ $7,475,221 $4,713,324 ================= ================ ------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ----------------- --- ---------------- --- Revolving Credit Facility and Commercial Paper As of February 28, 1998, CHL, the Company's mortgage banking subsidiary, had an unsecured credit agreement (revolving credit facility) with forty-five commercial banks permitting CHL to borrow an aggregate maximum amount of $4.0 billion. The purpose of the revolving credit facility is to provide liquidity back-up for CHL's $4.0 billion commercial paper program. The facility contains various financial covenants and restrictions, certain of which limit the amount of dividends that can be paid by the Company or CHL. As consideration for the facility, CHL pays annual commitment fees of $3.8 million. The interest rate on direct borrowings is based on a variety of sources, including the prime rate and the London Interbank Offered Rates ("LIBOR") for U.S. dollar deposits. This interest rate varies, depending on CHL's credit ratings. No amount was outstanding under the revolving credit facility at February 28, 1998. The revolving credit facility consists of a five year facility of $3.0 billion which expires on September 24, 2002 and a one year facility of $1.0 billion which expires on September 24, 1998. The weighted average borrowing rate on commercial paper borrowings NOTE F - NOTES PAYABLE (Continued) for the year ended February 28, 1998 was 5.61%. The weighted average borrowing rate on commercial paper outstanding as of February 28, 1998 was 5.63%. Medium-Term Notes As of February 28, 1998, outstanding medium-term notes issued by CHL under various shelf registrations filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission were as follows. - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Dollar amounts in thousands) Outstanding Balance Interest Rate Maturity Date ---------------------- ---------------------------- ------------------------------------------- Floating-Rate Fixed-Rate Total From To From To ------------------------------------------- ----------- ---------- ------------- -------------- Series A $ $ 230,500 $ 230,500 6.86% 8.79% Mar. 1998 Mar. 2002 - Series B - 396,000 396,000 6.02% 6.98% Mar. 1998 Aug. 2005 Series C 208,000 197,000 405,000 5.27% 8.43% Apr. 1999 Mar. 2004 Series D 115,000 402,000 517,000 5.88% 6.88% Aug. 1998 Sep. 2005 Series E 310,000 673,000 983,000 5.75% 7.45% Feb. 2000 Oct. 2008 Series F 591,000 1,014,685 1,605,685 5.59% 6.84% Oct. 1999 Feb. 2005 ------------------------------------------- Total $1,224,000 $2,913,185 $4,137,185 =========================================== - - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As of February 28, 1998, all of the outstanding fixed-rate notes had been effectively converted through interest rate swap agreements to floating-rate notes. The weighted average borrowing rate on medium-term note borrowings for the year ended February 28, 1998, including the effect of the interest rate swap agreements, was 6.20%. Repurchase Agreements As of February 28, 1998, the Company had entered into short-term financing arrangements to sell MBS under agreements to repurchase. The weighted average borrowing rate for the year ended February 28, 1998 was 5.61%. The weighted average borrowing rate on repurchase agreements outstanding as of February 28, 1998 was 5.58%. The repurchase agreements were collateralized by MBS. All MBS underlying repurchase agreements are held in safekeeping by broker-dealers, and all agreements are to repurchase the same or substantially identical MBS. Subordinated Notes The 8.25% subordinated notes are due July 15, 2002. Interest is payable semi-annually on each January 15 and July 15. The subordinated notes are not redeemable prior to maturity and are not subject to any sinking fund requirements. NOTE F - NOTES PAYABLE (Continued) Pre-Sale Funding Facilities As of February 28, 1998, CHL had uncommitted revolving credit facilities with the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae") and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac"). The credit facilities are secured by conforming mortgage loans which are in the process of being pooled into MBS. Interest rates are based on LIBOR, federal funds and/or the prevailing rates for MBS repurchase agreements. The weighted average borrowing rate for all such facilities for the year ended February 28, 1998 was 5.73%. As of February 28, 1998, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under any of these facilities. Maturities of notes payable are as follows. ---------------- ------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- Year ending February 28(29), (Dollar amounts in thousands) ---------------- ------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- 1999 $3,279,489 2000 673,477 2001 507,070 2002 722,000 2003 658,500 Thereafter 1,634,685 ================= $7,475,221 ================= ---------------- ------------------------------------------- -------- ------------------- ----------------- NOTE G - COMPANY-OBLIGATED CAPITAL SECURITIES OF SUBSIDIARY TRUSTS On December 11, 1996, Countrywide Capital I (the "Subsidiary Trust I"), a subsidiary of the Company, issued $300 million of 8% Capital Trust Pass-through Securities (the "8% Capital Securities"). In connection with the Subsidiary Trust I issuance of the 8% Capital Securities, CHL issued to the Subsidiary Trust I, $309 million of its 8% Junior Subordinated Deferrable Interest Debentures (the "Subordinated Debt Securities I"). The Subordinated Debt Securities I are due on December 15, 2026 with interest payable semi-annually on June 15 and December 15 of each year. The Company has the right to redeem at par, plus accrued interest, the 8% Capital Securities any time on or after December 15, 2006. The sole assets of the Subsidiary Trust I are and will be the Subordinated Debt Securities I. On June 4, 1997, Countrywide Capital III (the "Subsidiary Trust III"), a subsidiary of the Company, issued $200 million of 8.05% Subordinated Capital Income Securities, Series A (the "8.05% Capital Securities"). In connection with the Subsidiary Trust III issuance of 8.05% Capital Securities, CHL issued to the Subsidiary Trust III, $206 million of its 8.05% Junior Subordinated Deferrable Interest Debentures (the "Subordinated Debt Securities III"). The Subordinated Debt Securities III are due on June 15, 2027 with interest payable semi-annually on June 15 and December 15 of each year. The sole assets of the Subsidiary Trust III are and will be the Subordinated Debt Securities III. On December 24, 1997, Subsidiary Trust III completed an exchange offer pursuant to which newly issued capital securities (the "New 8.05% Capital Securities") were exchanged for all of the outstanding 8.05% Capital Securities. The New 8.05% Capital Securities are identical in all material respects to the 8.05% Capital Securities, except that the New 8.05% Capital Securities have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. In relation to Subsidiary Trusts I and III, CHL has the right to defer payment of interest by extending the interest payment period, from time to time, for up to 10 consecutive semi-annual periods. If interest payments on the Debentures are so deferred, the Company and CHL may not declare or pay dividends on, or make a distribution with respect to, or redeem, purchase or acquire, or make a liquidation payment with respect to, any of its capital stock. NOTE H - INCOME TAXES Components of the provision for income taxes were as follows. -- ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ -------- Year ended February 28(29), ---------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- --- -- ----------------------------------------- --- ---------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- --- ---------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- --- (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 1996 -- ----------------------------------------- --- ---------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- --- Federal expense - deferred $181,228 $135,991 $106,789 State expense - deferred 39,335 28,549 23,691 ================ ============= ============= $220,563 $164,540 $130,480 ================ ============= ============= -- ----------------------------------------- --- ---------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- --- The following is a reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate to the effective income tax rate as reflected in the consolidated statements of earnings. -- ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ -------- Year ended February 28(29), --------------- -- -------------- --- ------------ --- 1998 1997 1996 -- ----------------------------------------- --- --------------- -- -------------- --- ------------ --- Statutory federal income tax rate 35.0% 35.0% 35.0% State income and franchise taxes, net of federal tax effect 4.0 4.0 5.0 =============== ============== ============ Effective income tax rate 39.0% 39.0% 40.0% =============== ============== ============ -- ----------------------------------------- --- --------------- -- -------------- --- ------------ --- The tax effects of temporary differences that gave rise to deferred income tax assets and liabilities are presented below. --- ------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- --- Year Ended February 28(29), -------------------------------------------------- (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 1996 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deferred income tax assets: Net operating losses $ 152,279 $131,253 $101,303 State income and franchise taxes 49,649 39,487 30,276 Reserves, accrued expenses and other 28,033 40,067 16,902 ----------------- --------------- ------------- Total deferred income tax assets 229,961 210,807 148,481 ----------------- --------------- ------------- Deferred income tax liabilities: Mortgage servicing rights 1,079,364 846,450 645,693 Gain on sale of subsidiary 23,681 - - ----------------- --------------- ------------- Total deferred income tax liabilities 1,103,045 846,450 645,693 ----------------- --------------- ------------- Deferred income taxes $ 873,084 $635,643 $497,212 ================= =============== ============= ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At February 28, 1998, the Company had net operating loss carryforwards for federal income tax purposes of $12.3 million expiring in 2003, $19.7 million expiring in 2004, $3.2 million expiring in 2006, $5.1 million expiring in 2008, $131.4 million expiring in 2009, $74.0 million expiring in 2010, $41.0 million expiring in 2011, $84.1 million expiring in 2012 and $64.0 million expiring in 2013. NOTE I - FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS Derivative Financial Instruments The Company utilizes a variety of derivative financial instruments to manage interest-rate risk. These instruments include interest rate floors, MBS mandatory forward sale and purchase commitments, options to sell or buy MBS and treasury securities, options on CPC, interest rate caps, Capped Swaps, Swaptions, interest rate futures, interest rate swaps, and P/O swaps. These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of interest-rate and credit risk. All of the Company's derivative financial instruments are held or issued for purposes other than trading. While the Company does not anticipate nonperformance by any counterparty, the Company is exposed to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the counterparties to the various over-the-counter instruments. The Company manages this credit risk by entering into agreements with well established, financially strong entities having a long-term credit rating of single A or better. The Company's exposure to credit risk in the event of default by a counterparty is the current cost of replacing the contracts net of any available margins retained by the Company or the Mortgage-Backed Securities Clearing Corporation (the "MBSCC"), an independent clearing agent. The amounts of credit risk as of February 28, 1998, if the counterparties failed completely and if the margins, if any, retained by the Company or the MBSCC were to become unavailable, and net of margin accounts follows: - - --------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ (Dollar amounts in millions) As of February 28, 1998 - - --------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ Interest rate floors $374.0 MBS mandatory delivery and purchase commitments 18.4 Interest rate caps 41.3 Swaptions 27.2 Interest rate swaps 155.2 ------------------ Total 616.1 Less: Margin accounts held (214.9) ================== Net Credit Risk $401.2 ================== - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------ ---------------- Hedge of Committed Pipeline and Mortgage Loan Inventory As of February 28, 1998, the Company had short-term rate and point commitments amounting to approximately $7.0 billion (including $6.6 billion fixed-rate and $.4 billion adjustable-rate) to fund mortgage loan applications in process subject to approval of the loans (the "Committed Pipeline") and an additional $1.4 billion of mortgage loans subject to property identification and borrower qualification. Substantially all of these commitments are for periods of 60 days or less. (After funding and sale of the mortgage loans, the Company's exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the mortgagor is limited as described in Note J). NOTE I - FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS (Continued) In order to offset the risk that a change in interest rates will result in a decrease in the value of the Company's current Inventory or its loan commitments, the Company enters into hedging transactions. The Company's hedging policies generally require that substantially all of its Inventory and the maximum portion of its Committed Pipeline that may close be hedged with forward contracts for the sale of MBS or options on MBS. The MBS that are to be delivered under these contracts and options are fixed or adjustable-rate, corresponding with the composition of the Company's Inventory and Committed Pipeline. At February 28, 1998, the notional amount of forward contracts and options to purchase MBS aggregated $6.7 billion and $4.8 billion, respectively. The forward contracts and options extend through October 1998. The Company is not exposed to significant risk nor will it derive any significant benefit from changes in interest rates on the price of the Inventory net of gains or losses of associated hedge positions. The correlation between the price performance of the Inventory being hedged and the hedge instruments is very high due to the similarity of the asset and the related hedge instrument. The Company is exposed to the risk that the portion of loans from the Committed Pipeline that actually closes at the committed price is less than or more than the estimated amount of closing in the event of a decline or rise in rates during the commitment period. The estimated amount of loans closing from the Committed Pipeline is influenced by many factors, including the composition of the Company's Committed Pipeline, the historical and expected portion of the Committed Pipeline likely to close and the timing of such closings. At February 28, 1998, the Company had open commitments amounting to approximately $16.6 billion to sell MBS with varying settlement dates generally not extending beyond August 1998, and options to sell MBS through December 1998 with a total notional amount of $6.2 billion. Servicing Hedge The primary means used by the Company to reduce the sensitivity of its earnings to changes in interest rates is through a strong production capability and a growing servicing portfolio. To further mitigate the effect on earnings of higher amortization and impairment of MSRs resulting from increased prepayment activity that generally occurs when interest rates decline, the Company utilizes its Servicing Hedge, consisting of financial instruments, including derivative contracts, that increase in aggregate value when interest rates decline. These financial instruments include options on interest rate futures and MBS, interest rate floors, interest rate swaps, interest rate caps, Capped Swaps, Swaptions, options on CPC, P/O swaps and certain tranches of CMOs. The CMOs, which consist primarily of P/O securities, have been purchased at deep discounts to their par values. As interest rates decline, prepayments on the collateral underlying the CMOs should increase which should result in a decline in the average lives of the P/O securities and an increase in the present values of their cash flows. At February 28, 1998, the carrying value of CMOs included in the Servicing Hedge was approximately $191.8 million. NOTE I - FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS (Continued) The following summarizes the notional amounts of Servicing Hedge derivative contracts. - - ------------------------------------- ------------------- -------------------- ------------------- --------------------- (Dollar amounts in millions) Balance, Dispositions/ Balance, February 28, 1997 Additions Expirations February 28, 1998 - - ------------------------------------- ------------------- -------------------- ------------------- --------------------- Interest Rate Floors $26,250 13,500 ( 6,750) $33,000 Long Call Options on Interest Rate Futures $4,200 99,600 (24,400) $79,400 Long Put Options on Interest Rate Futures - 11,775 ( 1,975) $9,800 Interest Rate Futures - 5,000 - $5,000 Capped Swaps $1,000 - - $1,000 Interest Rate Swaps - 3,900 - $3,900 Principal - Only Swaps $ 268 - ( 268) - Interest Rate Cap $1,000 4,000 ( 500) $4,500 Swaptions $1,750 1,000 ( 900) $1,850 Options on Callable Pass-through Certificates $ - 2,561 - $2,561 - - ------------------------------------- ------------------- -------------------- ------------------- --------------------- The Servicing Hedge instruments utilized by the Company are intended to protect the value of the investment in MSRs from the effects of increased prepayment activity that generally results from declining interest rates. To the extent that interest rates increase, the value of the MSRs increases while the value of hedge instruments declines. With respect to the options, Swaptions, floors, caps and CMOs, the Company is not exposed to loss beyond its initial outlay to acquire the hedge instruments. With respect to the Capped Swaps contracts entered into by the Company as of February 28, 1998, the Company estimates that its maximum exposure to loss over the contractual term is $24.5 million. With respect to the Swap contracts entered into by the Company as of February 28, 1998, the Company estimates that its maximum exposure to loss over the contractual term is $153.0 million. The Company's exposure to loss on futures is related to changes in the Eurodollar rate over the life of the contract. The Company estimates that its maximum exposure to loss over the contractual term is $18.0 million. There can be no assurance that the Servicing Hedge will generate gains in the future, or if gains are generated, that they will fully offset impairment of the MSRs. Interest Rate Swaps As of February 28, 1998, CHL had interest rate swap agreements, in addition to those included in the Servicing Hedge, with certain financial institutions having notional principal amounts totaling $4.1 billion. The effect of these agreements is to enable CHL to convert its fixed-rate long term debt borrowings to LIBOR-based floating-rate cost borrowings (notional amount $3.4 billion), to convert a portion of its commercial paper and medium-term note borrowings from one floating-rate index to another (notional amount $0.1 billion) and to convert the earnings rate on the custodial accounts held by CHL from floating to fixed (notional amount $0.6 billion). Payments are due periodically through the termination date of each agreement. The agreements expire between March 1998 and June 2027. The interest rate swap agreements related to debt had an average fixed rate (receive rate) of 6.22% and an average floating rate indexed to 3-month LIBOR (pay rate) of 5.72% at February 28, 1998. The interest rate swap agreements related to custodial accounts had an average fixed rate (receive rate) of 6.89% and an average floating rate indexed to 1 to 3-month LIBOR (pay rate) of 5.72% at February 28, 1998. NOTE I - FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS (Continued) Fair Value of Financial Instruments The following disclosure of the estimated fair value of financial instruments as of February 28, 1998 and 1997 is made by the Company using available market information and appropriate valuation methodologies. However, considerable judgment is required to interpret market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the estimates presented herein are not necessarily indicative of the amounts the Company could realize in a current market exchange. The use of different market assumptions and/or estimation methodologies may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts. -- ---------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- --- ---------------------------- February 28, 1998 February 28, 1997 ------------------------------- --- ---------------------------- Carrying Estimated Carrying Estimated (Dollar amounts in thousands) amount fair value amount fair value -- ---------------------------------------------- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- --- ------------- Assets: Mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities held for sale $5,292,191 $5,292,191 $2,579,972 $2,579,972 Items included in other assets: Trading securities 255,216 255,216 130,915 130,915 Reverse repurchase agreements 53,560 53,560 - - CMOs purchased 191,823 191,823 165,452 165,452 Mortgage-backed securities retained in securitizations 466,259 466,259 293,030 293,030 Equity Securities - restricted and unrestricted 96,152 96,152 8,400 25,900 Rewarehoused FHA and VA loans 426,407 426,407 556,571 556,571 Liabilities: Notes payable 7,475,221 7,589,593 4,713,324 4,738,763 Repurchase agreements 7,190 7,456 24,083 24,891 Securities sold not yet purchased 165,316 165,316 - - Derivatives: Interest rate floors 378,023 373,964 167,204 137,047 Contracts on MBS - ( 5,719) - (38,119) Options on MBS 33,290 24,125 43,058 29,240 Options on interest rate futures 32,093 13,546 6,431 1,625 Options on callable pass-through certificates 34,451 44,278 - - Interest rate caps 83,512 41,319 30,912 29,127 Capped Swaps 5,405 ( 1,795) (11,609) (11,609) Swaptions 27,213 27,213 19,701 19,482 Interest rate futures ( 3,359) ( 3,359) - - Interest rate swaps 44,717 155,229 5,340 (4,951) Principal-only swaps - - (19,446) (19,446) Short-term commitments to extend credit - 38,525 - 40,439 -- ---------------------------------------------- ------------ -- ------------- -- ------------- --- ------------- The fair value estimates as of February 28, 1998 and 1997 are based on pertinent information available to management as of the respective dates. Although management is not aware of any factors that would significantly affect the estimated fair value amounts, such amounts have not been comprehensively revalued for purposes of these financial statements since those dates and, therefore, current estimates of fair value may differ significantly from the amounts presented herein. NOTE I - FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS (Continued) The following describes the methods and assumptions used by the Company in estimating fair values. Mortgage Loans and Mortgage-Backed Securities Held for Sale Fair value is estimated using the quoted market prices for securities backed by similar types of loans and dealer commitments to purchase loans on a servicing-retained basis. Collateralized Mortgage Obligations Fair value is estimated using quoted market prices and by discounting future cash flows using discount rates that approximate current market rates and market consensus prepayment rates. Mortgage-backed securities retained in securitization Fair value is estimated by discounting future cash flows using discount rates that approximate current market rates and market consensus prepayment rates. Derivatives Fair value is defined as the amount that the Company would receive or pay to terminate the contracts at the reporting date. Market or dealer quotes are available for many derivatives; otherwise, pricing or valuation models are applied to current market information to estimate fair value. Notes Payable Rates currently available to the Company for debt with similar terms and remaining maturities are used to estimate the fair value of existing debt. NOTE J - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Legal Proceedings On September 29, 1997, the United States District Court adopted the recommendation of a magistrate denying class certification in a lawsuit which was filed against CHL and a mortgage broker by Jeff and Kathy Briggs as a purported class action. The effect of the ruling is that the lawsuit will not proceed as a class action and will be limited to the Briggs' own claims. The Briggs are seeking reconsideration of the Court's ruling. The suit entitled Briggs v. Countywide, et. al and filed in the Northern Division of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, alleges that in connection with residential mortgage loan closings, CHL made certain payments to mortgage brokers in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and induced mortgage brokers to breach their alleged fiduciary duties to their customers. The plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages plus, as to certain claims, treble damages. In early 1998, two additional purported class action lawsuits were filed making essentially the same allegations about broker compensation as were made in Briggs. William C. Elliott et. al v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. was filed on February 18, 1998 in the United States District Court for Northern District of Mississippi and Joseph W. Gann, Sr., et. al v. America's Wholesale Lender was filed on February 14, 1998 in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. CHL's management believes that its compensation programs to mortgage brokers comply with applicable laws and long standing industry practice, and that it has meritorious defenses to these actions. CHL intends to defend vigorously against these actions and believes that the ultimate resolution of such claims will not have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial position or results of operations. NOTE J - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Continued) The Company and certain subsidiaries are defendants in various legal proceedings involving matters generally incidental to their business. Although it is difficult to predict the ultimate outcome of these proceedings, management believes, based on discussions with counsel, that any ultimate liability will not materially affect the consolidated financial position or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries. Commitments to Buy or Sell Mortgage-Backed Securities and Other Derivatives Contracts In connection with its open commitments to buy or sell MBS and other derivative contracts, the Company may be required to maintain margin deposits. With respect to the MBS commitments, these requirements are generally greatest during periods of rapidly declining interest rates. With respect to other derivative contracts, margin requirements are generally greatest during periods of increasing interest rates. Lease Commitments The Company leases office facilities under lease agreements extending through September, 2011. Future minimum annual rental commitments under these non-cancelable operating leases with initial or remaining terms of one year or more are as follows. --- ------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ Year ending February 28(29), (Dollar amounts in thousands) --- ------------------------------- -------------------- -------------- ----------- 1999 $ 22,557 2000 17,867 2001 13,360 2002 10,703 2003 7,997 Thereafter 53,323 ============== $125,807 ============== --- ------------------------------- -------------------- -------------- ----------- Rent expense was $30.2 million, $22.3 million and $20.4 million for the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, respectively. Restrictions on Transfers of Funds The Company and certain of its subsidiaries are subject to regulatory and/or credit agreement restrictions which limit their ability to transfer funds to the Company through intercompany loans, advances or dividends. Pursuant to the revolving credit facility as of February 28, 1998, the Company is required to maintain $1.3 billion in consolidated net worth and CHL is required to maintain $1.2 billion of net worth, as defined in the credit agreement. Loan Servicing As of February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, the Company serviced loans totaling approximately $182.9 billion, $158.6 billion and $136.8 billion, respectively. Included in the loans serviced at February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996 were loans being serviced under subservicing agreements with total principal balances of $6.7 billion, $3.9 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively. The loans are serviced under a variety of servicing contracts. In general, these contracts include guidelines and procedures for servicing the loans, remittance requirements and reporting requirements, among other provisions. NOTE J - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Continued) Conforming conventional loans serviced by the Company (56% of the servicing portfolio at February 28, 1998) are securitized through the Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac programs. Such servicing is done on a non-recourse basis, whereby foreclosure losses are generally the responsibility of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and not of the Company. The government loans serviced by the Company are securitized through Government National Mortgage Association programs. The government loans are either insured against loss by the Federal Housing Administration (20% of the servicing portfolio at February 28, 1998) or partially guaranteed against loss by the Department of Veterans Affairs (8% of the servicing portfolio at February 28, 1998). In addition, jumbo mortgage loans (16% of the servicing portfolio at February 28, 1998) are also serviced for various investors on a non-recourse basis. Properties securing the mortgage loans in the Company's servicing portfolio are geographically dispersed throughout the United States. As of February 28, 1998, approximately 35% of the mortgage loans (measured by unpaid principal balance) in the Company's servicing portfolio are secured by properties located in California. No other state contains more than 5% of the properties securing mortgage loans. Generally, the Company is not exposed to credit risk. Because the Company services substantially all conventional loans on a non-recourse basis, foreclosure losses are generally the responsibility of the investor or insurer and not the Company. The Company retains credit risk on the home equity and sub-prime loans it sells in the form of pools backing securities. As such, through retention of a subordinated interest in the trust, the Company bears primary responsibility for credit losses on the loans. At February 28, 1998, the Company had investments in such subordinated interests amounting to $251 million, which represents the maximum exposure to credit losses on the securitized home equity and sub-prime loans. While the Company generally does not retain credit risk with respect to the prime credit quality first mortgage loans it sells, it does have potential liability under representations and warranties made to purchasers and insurers of the loans. In the event of a breach of the representations and warranties, the Company may be required to repurchase a mortgage loan and any subsequent loss on the mortgage loan may be borne by the Company. Similarly, government loans serviced by the Company (29% of the Company's servicing portfolio at February 28, 1998) are insured by the Federal Housing Administration or partially guaranteed against loss by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Company is exposed to credit losses to the extent that the partial guarantee provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs is inadequate to cover the total credit losses incurred. NOTE K - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Stock Option Plans The Company has stock option plans (the "Plans") that provide for the granting of both qualified and non-qualified options to employees and directors. Options are generally granted at the average market price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant and are exercisable beginning one year from the date of grant and expire up to eleven years from the date of grant. NOTE K - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS (Continued) Stock options transactions under the Plans were as follows. - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year ended February 28(29), ------------------------------------------------------- 1998 1997 1996 - - ----- ------------------------------------------------- -- -------------- -- -------------- -- -------------- --- Number of Shares: Outstanding options at beginning of year 10,241,862 6,911,180 6,683,414 Options granted 1,836,169 4,516,237 1,110,205 Options exercised (839,479) (1,000,798) (752,380) Options expired or cancelled (86,753) (184,757) (130,059) ============== ============== ============== Outstanding options at end of year 11,151,799 10,241,862 6,911,180 ============== ============== ============== Weighted Average Exercise Price: Outstanding options at beginning of year $19.03 $15.67 $14.75 Options granted 27.09 23.14 18.56 Options exercised 16.07 14.26 11.60 Options expired or canceled 21.17 19.38 16.25 ============== ============== ============== Outstanding options at end of year $20.57 $19.03 $15.67 ============== ============== ============== Options exercisable at end of year 5,407,177 3,862,565 3,437,985 Options available for future grant 1,920,487 3,078,591 1,410,485 - - ----- ------------------------------------------------- -- -------------- -- -------------- -- -------------- --- Status of the outstanding stock options under the Plans at February 28, 1998 was as follows: - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Outstanding Options Exercisable Options --------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- Weighted Average Weighted Weighted Remaining Average Average Exercise Contractual Exercise Exercise Price Range Life Number Price Number Price ------------------- --------------- -------------- ------------- ------------- -------------- $2.39 - $15.58 4.4 years 1,750,953 $12.02 1,567,026 $11.60 $16.19 - $16.81 5.7 1,191,567 $16.55 974,908 $16.49 $17.38 - $22.81 6.8 2,862,792 $20.08 1,827,499 $19.68 $23.06 - $26.63 8.4 3,564,918 $23.23 1,037,369 $23.32 $27.06 - $44.00 9.3 1,781,569 $27.12 375 $28.56 =================== =============== ============== ============= ============= -------------- $2.39 - $44.00 7.2 years 11,151,799 $20.57 5,407,177 $17.46 =================== =============== ============== ============= ============= -------------- - - ----- ------------------- - --------------- - -------------- -- ------------- -- ------------- -- -------------- NOTE K - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS (Continued) Had the estimated fair value of the options granted during the period been included in compensation expense, the Company's net earnings and earnings per share would have been as follows: - - ------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- (Dollar amounts in thousands, Year ended February 28, ---------------------------------------------------- except per share data) 1998 1997 1996 - - ------------------------------------------- ----------------- ---------------- ----------------- Net Earnings As reported $344,983 $257,358 $195,720 Pro forma $335,043 $241,115 $191,652 Basic Earnings Per Share As reported $3.21 $2.50 $1.99 Pro forma $3.12 $2.34 $1.95 Diluted Earnings Per Share As reported $3.09 $2.44 $1.95 Pro forma $3.00 $2.28 $1.91 - - ------------------------------------------- ----------------- ---------------- ----------------- The fair value of each option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model modified to consider cash dividends to be paid. The following weighted-average assumptions were used for grants in fiscal 1998, 1997 and 1996, respectively: dividend yield of 1.18%, 1.38% and 1.72%; expected volatility of 28%, 26% and 32%; risk-free interest rates of 6.5%, 6.6% and 5.9% and expected lives of five years for options granted in all three years. The average fair value of options granted during fiscal 1998, 1997 and 1996 was $8.89, $7.15 and $6.11, respectively. Pension Plan The Company has a defined benefit pension plan (the "Plan") covering substantially all of its employees. The Company's policy is to contribute the amount actuarially determined to be necessary to pay the benefits under the Plan, and in no event to pay less than the amount necessary to meet the minimum funding standards of ERISA. NOTE K - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS (Continued) The following table sets forth the Plan's funded status and amounts recognized in the Company's financial statements. -- ----------------------------------------- ---- ------------------------------------------------------ --- Year ended February 28, --- -- ------------- --- ------------ (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ------------- --- ------------ --- Actuarial present value of benefit obligations: Vested $10,849 $8,640 Non-vested 4,378 3,425 ------------- ------------ Total accumulated benefit obligation 15,227 12,065 Additional benefits based on estimated future salary levels 8,706 6,439 ------------ ------------- Projected benefit obligations for service rendered to date 23,933 18,504 Less: Plan assets at fair value, primarily mortgage-backed securities (18,152) (13,677) ------------- ------------ Projected benefit obligation in excess of Plan assets 5,781 4,827 Unrecognized net (loss) gain from past experience different from that assumed and effects of changes in assumptions (809) (903) Prior service cost not yet recognized in net periodic pension cost (1,123) (1,223) Unrecognized net asset at February 28, 1987 being recognized over 15 years 283 354 ------------- ------------ Accrued pension cost $4,132 $3,055 ============= ============ Net pension cost included the following components: Service cost - benefits earned during the period $3,241 $2,331 Interest cost on projected benefit obligations 1,273 1,153 Actual return on Plan assets (2,525) 598 Net amortization and deferral 1,372 (1,614) ============= ============ Net periodic pension cost $3,361 $2,468 ============= ============ -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ------------- --- ------------ --- The weighted average discount rate used in determining the actuarial present value of the projected benefit obligation for February 28, 1998 and 1997 was 7.25% and 7.50%, respectively. The rate of increase in future compensation levels used in determining the actuarial present value of the projected benefit obligation was 4.0% for both years ended February 28, 1998 and 1997. The expected long-term rate of return on assets used was 8.0% for both years ended February 28, 1998 and 1997. Pension expense for the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996 was $3.4 million, $2.5 million and $2.0 million, respectively. The Company makes contributions to the Plan in amounts that are deductible in accordance with federal income tax regulations. NOTE L - SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY In February 1988, the Board of Directors of the Company declared a dividend distribution of one preferred stock purchase right ("Right") for each outstanding share of the Company's common stock. As a result of stock splits and stock dividends, 0.399 of a Right is presently associated with each outstanding share of the Company's common stock issued prior to the Distribution Date (as defined below). Each Right, when exercisable, entitles the holder to purchase from the Company one one-hundredth of a share of Series A Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.05 per share, of the Company (the "Series A Preferred Stock"), at a price of $145, subject to adjustments in certain cases to prevent dilution. NOTE L - SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY (Continued) The Rights are evidenced by the common stock certificates and are not exercisable or transferable, apart from the common stock, until the date (the "Distribution Date") of the earlier of a public announcement that a person or group, without prior consent of the Company, has acquired 20% or more of the common stock ("Acquiring Person"), or ten days (subject to extension by the Board of Directors) after the commencement of a tender offer made without the prior consent of the Company. In the event a person becomes an Acquiring Person, then each Right (other than those owned by the Acquiring Person) will entitle its holder to purchase, at the then current exercise price of the Right, that number of shares of common stock, or the equivalent thereof, of the Company which, at the time of such transaction, would have a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right. The Board of Directors of the Company may delay the exercisability of the Rights during the period in which they are exercisable only for Series A Preferred Stock (and not common stock). In the event that, after a person has become an Acquiring Person, the Company is acquired in a merger or other business combination, as defined for the purposes of the Rights, each Right (other than those held by the Acquiring Person) will entitle its holder to purchase, at the then current exercise price of the Right, that number of shares of common stock, or the equivalent thereof, of the other party (or publicly-traded parent thereof) to such merger or business combination which at the time of such transaction would have a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right. The Rights expire on the earlier of February 28, 2002, consummation of certain merger transactions or optional redemption by the Company prior to any person becoming an Acquiring Person. NOTE M - RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS On July 1, 1997, the Company sold the assets, operations and employees of Countrywide Asset Management Corporation ("CAMC"), a then wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, to INMC Mortgage Holdings, Inc. (formerly CWM Mortgage Holdings, Inc.) ("INMC"). CAMC was formally the manager of INMC. As consideration, the Company received 3,440,800 newly issued common shares of INMC. These shares have resale restrictions for up to a period of three years. The transaction was structured as a merger of CAMC with and into INMC. Prior to the sale, CAMC received certain management fees and incentive compensation. During the fiscal years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, CAMC earned $0.6 million, $1.6 million and $2.0 million, respectively, in base management fees from INMC and its subsidiaries. In addition, during the fiscal years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, CAMC received $3.1 million, $8.6 million and $6.6 million, respectively, in incentive compensation. Prior to the sale, CAMC incurred many of the expenses related to the operations of INMC and its subsidiaries, including personnel and related expenses, subject to reimbursement by INMC. During the fiscal years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, the amount of expenses incurred by CHL which were allocated to CAMC and reimbursed by INMC totaled $16.0 million, $29.2 million and $17.1 million, respectively. INMC held an option to purchase conventional loans from CHL at the prevailing market price. During the years ended February 28(29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, INMC purchased $2.9 million, $51.5 million and $14.3 million, respectively, of conventional non-conforming mortgage loans from CHL pursuant to this option. CHL services mortgage loans issued by subsidiaries of INMC with outstanding balances of approximately $4.4 billion at February 28, 1998. CHL received $1.9 million, $0.6 million and $0.1 million in subservicing fees for the years ended February 28 (29), 1998, 1997 and 1996, respectively. NOTE N - SEGMENT INFORMATION The Company and its subsidiaries operate primarily in the mortgage banking industry. Operations in mortgage banking involve CHL's origination and purchase of mortgage loans, sale of mortgage loans in the secondary mortgage market, servicing of mortgage loans and the purchase and sale of rights to service mortgage loans. Segment information for the year ended February 28, 1998 was as follows. ----------------------------- ---- --- -- ------------ ---- ----------- ---- ------------ ----- ------------- Adjustments Mortgage and (Dollar amounts in thousands) Banking Other Eliminations Consolidated ----------------------------- ---- --- -- ------------ ---- ----------- ---- ------------ ----- ------------- Unaffiliated revenue $ 1,260,306 $ 248,654 $ - $ 1,508,960 Intersegment revenue 351 - (351) - ------------ ----------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ----------- ------------ ------------- Total revenue $ 1,260,657 $ 248,654 $ (351) $ 1,508,960 ============ =========== ============ ------------- Earnings before income taxes $ 421,748 $ 143,798 $ - $ 565,546 ============ =========== ============ ============= Identifiable assets as of February 28, 1998 $11,508,573 $ 3,137,247 ($2,426,639) $12,219,181 ============ =========== ============ ------------- ----------------------------- ---- --- -- ------------ ---- ----------- ---- ------------ ----- ------------- Segment information for the year ended February 28, 1997 was as follows. ----------------------------- ---- --- -- ------------ ---- ----------- ---- ------------ ----- ------------- Adjustments Mortgage and (Dollar amounts in thousands) Banking Other Eliminations Consolidated ----------------------------- ---- --- -- ------------ ---- ----------- ---- ------------ ----- ------------- Unaffiliated revenue $1,006,146 $ 106,316 $ - $ 1,112,462 Intersegment revenue 392 - (392) - ------------ ----------- ------------ ------------- Total revenue $1,006,538 $ 106,316 $ (392) $ 1,112,462 ============ =========== ============ ============= Earnings before income taxes $ 369,020 $ 52,878 $ - $ 421,898 ============ =========== ============ ============= Identifiable assets as of February 28, 1997 $7,415,050 $ 2,158,835 ($1,884,795) $7,689,090 ============ =========== ============ ============= ----------------------------- ---- --- -- ------------ ---- ----------- ---- ------------ ----- ------------- NOTE N - SEGMENT INFORMATION (Continued) Segment information for the year ended February 29, 1996 was as follows. ----------------------------- ---- ---- -- ------------ ---- ----------- -- -------------- ---- ------------- Adjustments Mortgage and (Dollar amounts in thousands) Banking Other Eliminations Consolidated ----------------------------- ---- ---- -- ------------ ---- ----------- -- -------------- ---- ------------- Unaffiliated revenue $ 806,813 $ 53,959 $ - $ 860,742 Intersegment revenue 1,776 - (1,776) - ------------ ----------- -------------- ------------- Total revenue $ 808,589 $ 53,929 ($ 1,776) $ 860,742 ============ =========== ============== ============= Earnings before income taxes $ 308,596 $ 17,604 $ - $ 326,200 ============ =========== ============== ============== Identifiable assets as of February 29, 1996 $ 8,181,765 $ 1,454,609 ($1,299,388) ($$8,336,986) ============ =========== ============== ============== ----------------------------- ---- ---- -- ------------ ---- ----------- -- -------------- ---- ------------- NOTE O - SUBSEQUENT EVENTS On March 18, 1998, the Company declared a cash dividend of $0.08 per common share payable April 30, 1998 to shareholders of record on April 14, 1998. On April 15, 1998 CHL entered into a one year Revolving Credit Agreement with 16 banks for total commitments of $1.3 billion. The facility contains terms consistent with the existing $4.0 billion revolving credit facility. The facility will serve as additional liquidity backup to CHL's commercial paper program. On or about May 28, 1998 CHL entered into a commitment to sell to qualified purchasers a total of $400 million Floating Rate Notes due 2003 listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (the "Euro Notes"). The Euro Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the Company and will be issued under the Euro Medium Term Notes program established by CHL. The maximum aggregate principal amount outstanding at any one time under the program will not exceed $2.0 billion. The Euro Notes will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and as such, they may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except in accordance with an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. NOTE P - QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (UNAUDITED) Summarized quarterly data was as follows. -- ----------------------------------------- ---- ------------------------------------------------- --------- Three months ended (Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share May 31 August 31 November 30 February 28 data) -------------- --------------- -------------- ----------------- --------------------------------------------- -------------- --------------- -------------- ----------------- Year ended February 28, 1998 Revenue $318,645 $405,156 $375,141 $410,018 Expenses 203,942 225,272 243,693 270,507 Provision for income taxes 44,734 70,155 51,265 54,409 Net earnings $ 69,969 $109,729 $ 80,183 $ 85,102 Earnings per share(1) Basic $0.66 $1.02 $0.75 $0.78 Diluted $0.64 $0.99 $0.71 $0.74 Year ended February 28, 1997 Revenue $263,282 $270,815 $281,530 $296,835 Expenses 163,898 168,361 173,440 184,865 Provision for income taxes 38,760 39,957 42,155 43,668 Net earnings $ 60,624 $ 62,497 $ 65,935 $ 68,302 Earnings per share(1) Basic $0.59 $0.61 $0.64 $0.65 Diluted $0.58 $0.60 $0.62 $0.63 --------------------------------------------- -------------- --------------- -------------- ----------------- (1) Earnings per share is computed independently for each of the quarters presented. Therefore, the sum of the quarterly earnings per share amounts may not equal the annual amount. This is caused by rounding and the averaging effect of the number of share equivalents utilized throughout the year, which changes with the market price of the common stock. NOTE Q - SUMMARIZED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF SUBSIDIARY Summarized financial information for Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. was as follows. -- ----------------------------------------- ---- ------------------------------------------------- --------- February 28, -------------- ----------- -------------- --------- (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 -- ---------------------------------------------- ------- -------------- ----------- -------------- --------- Balance Sheets: Mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities held for sale $ 5,292,191 $2,579,972 Other assets 6,216,382 4,835,078 ============== ============== Total assets $11,508,573 $7,415,050 ============== ============== Short- and long-term debt $ 8,747,794 $5,220,277 Other liabilities 1,027,884 742,435 Equity 1,732,895 1,452,338 ============== ============== Total liabilities and equity $11,508,573 $7,415,050 ============== ============== -- ---------------------------------------------- ------- -------------- ----------- -------------- --------- NOTE Q - SUMMARIZED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF SUBSIDIARY (Continued) --- ----------------------------------------- --- --------------------------------------------------- -------- Year ended February 28, --------------- ---------- --------------- --------- (Dollar amounts in thousands) 1998 1997 --- --------------------------------------------- ------- --------------- ---------- --------------- --------- Statements of Earnings: Revenues $1,260,657 $1,006,538 Expenses 838,909 637,518 Provision for income taxes 164,166 143,918 =============== =============== Net earnings $ 257,582 $ 225,102 =============== =============== --- --------------------------------------------- ------- --------------- ---------- --------------- --------- NOTE R - IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS In June 1997, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 130, Reporting Comprehensive Income ("SFAS No. 130"). SFAS No. 130 establishes standards for reporting and presentation of comprehensive income and its components in a full set of general-purpose financial statements. This Statement requires that an enterprise classify items of other comprehensive income by their nature in a financial statement and show the accumulated balance of other comprehensive income separately from retained earnings and additional paid-in capital in the equity section of a statement of financial position. The Statement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1997. Reclassification of financial statements for earlier periods provided for comparative purposes is required. The impact of the adoption of this statement is disclosure related and therefore Management believes that the adoption will not have a material impact on the Company. In June 1997, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 131, Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information ("SFAS No. 131"). SFAS No. 131 establishes standards for the manner in which public business enterprises report information about operating segments in annual financial statements and requires that those enterprises report selected information about operating segments in interim financial reports issued to shareholders. This Statement requires that a public business enterprise report financial and descriptive information about its reportable operating segments. The Statement also establishes standards for related disclosure about products and services, geographic areas, and major customers. This Statement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1997. In the initial year of application comparative information for earlier years is to be restated. This Statement need not be applied to interim financial statements in the initial year of its application. The impact of the adoption of this statement is disclosure related and therefore Management believes that the adoption will not have a material impact on the Company. In February 1998, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 132, Employers' Disclosure about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits ("SFAS No. 132"), an amendment of FASB Statements No. 87, 88, and 106. SFAS No. 132 revises employers' disclosures about pension and other postretirement benefit plans. It does not change the measurement or recognition of those plans. This Statement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1997. Restatement of disclosures for earlier periods provided for comparative purposes is required. The impact of the adoption of this statement is disclosure related and therefore Management believes that the adoption will not have a material impact on the Company. COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES SCHEDULE I - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. BALANCE SHEETS (Dollar amounts in thousands) February 28, -------------- -- -------------- 1998 1997 -------------- -------------- Assets Cash $ - $ - Intercompany receivable 278,966 120,126 Investment in subsidiaries at equity in net assets 1,846,298 1,560,341 Equipment and leasehold improvements 88 108 Other assets 207,005 36,934 -------------- -------------- Total assets $2,332,357 $1,717,509 ============== ============== Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Intercompany payable $ 133,240 $ 44,023 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 47,566 16,971 Deferred income taxes 56,039 14,439 -------------- -------------- Total liabilities 236,845 75,433 Common shareholders' equity Common stock 5,460 5,305 Additional paid-in capital 1,049,364 917,942 Unrealized gain on available-for-sale securities 11,267 - Retained earnings 1,029,421 718,829 -------------- -------------- Total shareholders' equity 2,095,512 1,642,076 -------------- -------------- Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $2,332,357 $1,717,509 ============== ============== COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES SCHEDULE I - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT (Continued) COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (Dollar amounts in thousands) Year ended February 28(29), -------------- -- -------------- -- -------------- 1998 1997 1996 -------------- -------------- -------------- Revenue Interest earned $ 6,421 $ 1,148 $ 31 Interest charges - - (1,952) -------------- -------------- -------------- Net interest income 6,421 1,148 (1,921) Gain on sale of subsidiary 57,381 - - Dividend income 10,350 1,550 2,332 -------------- -------------- -------------- 74,152 2,698 411 Expenses (3,414) (3,398) (3,761) -------------- -------------- -------------- Earnings (loss) before income tax provision/benefit and equity in net earnings of subsidiaries 70,738 (700) (3,350) Income tax (provision) benefit (27,588) 273 1,340 -------------- -------------- -------------- Earnings (loss) before equity in net earnings of subsidiaries 43,150 (427) (2,010) Equity in net earnings of subsidiaries 301,833 257,785 197,730 -------------- -------------- -------------- NET EARNINGS $344,983 $257,358 $195,720 ============== ============== ============== COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES SCHEDULE I - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT (Continued) COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS Increase (Decrease) in Cash (Dollar amounts in thousands) Year ended February 28(29), -------------- -- -------------- -- -------------- 1998 1997 1996 -------------- -------------- -------------- Cash flows from operating activities: Net earnings $344,983 $257,358 $195,720 Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided (used) by operating activities: Earnings of subsidiaries (301,833) (257,785) (197,730) Depreciation and amortization 26 24 18 Increase in other receivables and other assets (85,647) (1,644) (8,241) Increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities 44,039 5,534 2,488 Gain on sale of subsidiary (57,381) - - Gain on sale of available-for-sale securities (2,593) - - -------------- -------------- -------------- Net cash provided (used) by operating activities (58,406) 3,487 (7,745) -------------- -------------- -------------- Cash flows from investing activities: Net change in intercompany receivables and payables (53,066) (44,901) 76,236 Investment in subsidiaries 15,876 (6,832) (239,368) Proceeds from available-for-sale securities 3,678 - - -------------- -------------- -------------- Net cash (used) provided by investing activities (33,512) (51,733) (163,132) -------------- -------------- -------------- Cash flows from financing activities: Repayment of long-term debt - - (10,600) Issuance of common stock 126,309 81,235 212,438 Cash dividends paid (34,391) (32,989) (30,961) -------------- -------------- -------------- Net cash provided (used) by financing activities 91,918 48,246 170,877 -------------- -------------- -------------- Net change in cash - - - Cash at beginning of year - - - -------------- -------------- -------------- Cash at end of year $ - $ - $ - ============== ============== ============== Supplemental cash flow information: Cash used to pay interest - - $ 2,744 Cash used to pay income taxes $ 186 - - Noncash financing activities - issuance of common stock to acquire subsidiary - $ 16,717 - Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities, net of tax $ 11,267 - - COUNTRYWIDE CREDIT INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES SCHEDULE II - VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS Three years ended February 28(29), 1998 (Dollar amounts in thousands) Column A Column B Column C Column D Column E - - ---------------------------------- -------------- -------------------------------- ----------------- -------------- Additions -------------------------------- Balance at Charged to Charged Balance beginning costs and to other at end of period expenses accounts Deductions (1) of period - - ---------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ---------------- ------------------ ------------- Year ended February 28, 1998 Allowance for losses $24,749 $31,456 $ 296 $21,823 $34,678 Year ended February 28, 1997 Allowance for losses $15,635 $21,064 $ 242 $12,192 $24,749 Year ended February 29, 1996 Allowance for losses $11,183 $8,831 $ 800 $ 5,179 $15,635 - - ---------------------------------- (1) Actual losses charged against reserve, net of recoveries and reclassification. Exhibit List Exhibit No. Description - - ----------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2.1 Agreement and Plan of Merger Among CWM Mortgage Holdings, Inc., Countrywide Asset Management Corporation and Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. 3.1* Certificate of Amendment of Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1987). 3.2* Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1987). 3.3* Bylaws of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc., as amended and restated (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 10, 1988). 3.3.1 Amendment to Bylaws of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. dated January 28, 1998. 3.3.2 Amendment to Bylaws of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. dated February 3, 1998. 4.1* Rights Agreement, dated as of February 10, 1988, between Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. and Bank of America NT & SA, as Rights Agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4 to the Company's Form 8-A filed pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on February 12, 1988). 4.1.1* Amendment No. 1 to Rights Agreement dated as of March 24, 1992 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1 to the Company's Form 8 filed with the SEC on March 27, 1992). 4.2* Specimen Certificate of the Company's Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Current Company's Report on Form 8-K dated February 6, 1987). 4.3* Specimen Debenture Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 6, 1987). 4.4* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series A (fixed-rate) of Countrywide Funding Corporation (now known as Countrywide Home Loans, Inc.) ("CHL") (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-3 (File Nos. 33-44194 and 33-44194-1) filed with the SEC on November 27, 1991). 4.5* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series A (floating-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-3 (File Nos. 33-44194 and 33-44194-1) filed with the SEC on November 27, 1991). 4.6* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series B (fixed-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 33-51816) filed with the SEC on September 9, 1992). 4.7* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series B (floating-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 33-51816) filed with the SEC on September 9, 1992). 4.8* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series C (fixed-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of CHL and the Company (File Nos. 33-50661 and 33-50661-01) filed with the SEC on October 19, 1993). 4.9* Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series C (floating-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of CHL and the Company (File Nos. 33-50661 and 33-50661-01) filed with the SEC on October 19, 1993). 4.10*Indenture dated as of January 1, 1992 among CHL, the Company and The Bank of New York, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of CHL and the Company (File Nos. 33-50661 and 33-50661-01) filed with the SEC on October 19, 1993). 4.10.1* Form of Supplemental Indenture No. 1 dated as of June 15, 1995, to the Indenture dated as of January 1, 1992, among CHL, the Company, and The Bank of New York, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.9 to Amendment No. 2 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 33-59559 and 33-59559-01) filed with the SEC on June 16, 1995). 4.11*Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series D (fixed-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.10 to Amendment No. 2 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 33-59559 and 33-59559-01) filed with the SEC on June 16, 1995). 4.12*Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series D (floating-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.11 to Amendment No. 2 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 33-59559 and 33-59559-01) filed with the SEC on June 16, 1995). 4.13*Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series E (fixed-rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 333-3835 and 333-3835-01) filed with the SEC on August 2, 1996). 4.14*Form of Medium-Term Notes, Series E (floating rate) of CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the registration statement on Form S-3 of the Company and CHL (File Nos. 333-3835 and 333-3835-01) filed with the SEC on August 2, 1996). + 10.1*Indemnity Agreements with Directors and Officers of Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Report on Form 8-K dated February 6, 1987). + 10.2*Restated Employment Agreement for David S. Loeb dated March 26, 1996 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.3* Restated Employment Agreement for Angelo R Mozilo dated March 26, 1996 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.3.1 Amendment Number One to Restated Employment Agreement for Angelo R. Mozilo. + 10.3.2 Amendment Number Two to Restated Employment Agreement for Angelo R. Mozilo. + 10.4 Employment Agreement for Stanford L. Kurland dated May 7, 1996 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.5*Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. Deferred Compensation Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 5.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1987). + 10.6*Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan for Key Management Employees dated April 15, 1992 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.7 Countrywide Credit Industries, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan Amended and Restated Effective January 1, 1998. 10.8* Revolving Credit Agreement dated as of the 24th day of September, 1997, by and among Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Bankers Trust Company, The First National Bank of Chicago, The Bank of New York, Chase Securities Inc., The Chase Manhattan Bank and the Lenders Party Thereto. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company's Quarterly report on Form 10-Q August 31, 1997) + 10.9* Severance Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1988). + 10.10* Key Executive Equity Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1988). + 10.11* 1987 Stock Option Plan, as Amended and Restated on May 15, 1989 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1989). + 10.11.1* First Amendment to the 1987 Stock Option Plan as Amended and Restated.(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.11.2*Second Amendment to the 1987 Stock Option Plan as Amended and Restated. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-K dated November 30, 1997) + 10.11.3*Third Amendment to the 1987 Stock Option Plan as Amended and Restated. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11.3 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.12* 1986 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). + 10.13* 1985 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). + 10.14* 1984 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). + 10.15* 1982 Incentive Stock Option Plan as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibits 10.2 - 10.5 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). + 10.16* Amended and Restated Stock Option Financing Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Company's registration statement on Form S-8 (File No. 33-9231) filed with the SEC on December 20, 1988). 10.17* 1995 Amended and Extended Management Agreement, dated as of May 15, 1995, between CWM Mortgage Holdings, Inc. ("CWM") and Countrywide Asset Management Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1995). 10.18* 1987 Amended and Restated Servicing Agreement, dated as of May 15, 1987, between CWM and CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1990). 10.19* 1995 Amended and Restated Loan Purchase and Administrative Services Agreement, dated as of May 15, 1995, between CWM and CHL (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1995). + 10.20* 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 29, 1992). + 10.20.1* First Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.20.2* Second Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.2 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.20.3* Third Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.3 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.20.4* Fourth Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.4 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.20.5* Fifth Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.5 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1995). + 10.20.6* Sixth Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20.6 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.20.7* Seventh Amendment to the 1991 Stock Option Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20.7 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.21* 1992 Stock Option Plan dated as of December 22, 1992 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19.5 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated February 28, 1993). + 10.21.1* First Amendment to the 1992 Stock Option Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21.1 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.21.2* First Amendment to the 1992 Stock Option Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated November 30, 1997) + 10.22* Amended and Restated 1993 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.22.1* First Amendment to the Amended and Restated 1993 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5.1 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.22.2 Second Amendment to the Amendment and Restated 1993 Stock Option Plan. + 10.22.3 Third Amendment to the Amendment and Restated 1993 Stock Option Plan. + 10.23* Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan effective March 1, 1994 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1994). + 10.24* Split-Dollar Life Insurance Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1994). + 10.25* Split-Dollar Collateral Assignment (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated May 31, 1994). + 10.26* Annual Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q dated August 31, 1996). + 10.27 Change in Control Severance Plan 11.1 Statement Regarding Computation of Earnings Per Share. 12.1 Computation of the Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges. 21. List of subsidiaries. 23. Consent of Grant Thornton LLP. 27 Financial Data Schedules (included only with the electronic filing with the SEC) ------------------------- *Incorporated by reference. +Constitutes a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.