Mozilo: Industry Better Off Today Than After 1998.(Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide chairman)(Brief Article)

Angelo Mozilo, chairman of the nation's last big mortgage company that is not a subsidiary of a larger bank, believes the home loan industry is better off today than it was at the end of the 1998 surge of refinancing.

Speaking at a Sandler O'Neill & Partners investors conference, Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo said the effort to smooth out income associated with cyclical loan origination activity is well underway at his company.

Countrywide's mortgage servicing portfolio already helps generate counter-cyclical earnings when lending volume slows down.

The company's performance last year shows that its macro-hedge strategy, which complements a large servicing portfolio with strong origination capacity, has worked well, Mr. Mozilo said.

The company has servicing rights on some $337 billion of home loans. Last year, the servicing portfolio grew 15% despite portfolio runoff.

A $338 million dollar impairment charge to its servicing portfolio did not hurt the company last year. Through ten months ending Dec. 31, Countrywide reported a 35% gain in pre-tax earnings.

Mr. Mozilo said the mortgage banking business is better positioned to fare well after this refinancing period that it was after the last one, in part because cutthroat price wars are unlikely in today's market.