Countrywide Financial Corporation, a provider of diverse financial services which operates five mortgage lending offices from Gig Harbor to Bainbridge Island, announced that as a result of a strong focus on its core business of residential lending and loan servicing, it has become the nation’s largest mortgage lender and largest servicer of residential loans.

According to Inside Mortgage Finance, a leading source of mortgage industry information and rankings, Countrywide is rated as number one in mortgage lending and in loan servicing. The rankings are for the Q3,2004 and as of Sept. 2004, respectively — the last period for which numbers are currently available.

Additionally, according to Markettrac, another company that tracks lending activity, Countrywide holds the number one spot, while its subsidiaries, Countrywide Bank, Americas Wholesale Lenders and Full Spectrum Lending are rated at 12, 18 and 32 respectively.

Countrywide companies funded approximately one of every eight home mortgages nationally and holds a 13.2 percent share of the national mortgage market. On the servicing side, the lender collected and dispersed principal and interest payments, tax and insurance monies and handled inquiries from customers holding approximately six million mortgages valued at $786 billion. This figure equaled 10.1 percent of total servicing nationwide. In addition, Countrywide continued its servicing portfolio growth in October 2004, surpassing the $800 billion mark, reaching $806 billion.

Through October 2004, Countrywide companies funded nearly $300 billion nationally, making 1.9 million loans.

From October 2003 to October 2004, loan servicing volume increased 30 percent, from $621 billion to $806 billion. In the same period, the number of mortgages services increased 22 percent to 6.0 million from 4.9 million.