It isn’t easy being Bank of America these days. The bank had previously thought to be in decent standing up until it acquired struggling firm Merrill Lynch, and since that point things have been awful. The flow of bad press has been non-stop, between Merrill Lynch’s crumbling balance sheet, questionable bonuses, and giving former Executive John Thain the axe, the firm simply can’t escape the ongoing drama.

Is this really intended to help troubled borrowers or to help someone's political career? It makes a splashy headline and will no doubt elevate the profile of the Illinois Attorney General (has she announced her candidacy for Governor or something?).

The rating agency downgraded $247 million in Countrywide subprime loan transactions as the transactions experienced 60-day delinquency rates of ranging from 7-40%.

Countrywide Financial Corp was summoned before a judge as part of a widening investigation into subprime lending practices, Florida attorney general said on Thursday.

Bank of America Corporation today announced a definitive agreement to purchase Countrywide Financial Corp. in an all-stock transaction worth approximately $4 billion.

Countrywide says "Our fourth quarter ended with a number of positive operational trends," said David Sambol, President and Chief Operating Officer. "Total loan fundings were $24 billion for the month of December, up slightly from November 2007 and ahead of our forecasts. This pushed our fourth quarter fundings to $69 billion, also exceeding our expectations.

Countrywide Bankruptcy rumor and denial news are floating the online teletypes as one financial reporter says Countrywide may be on the verge of bankruptcy, and another news reporter says Countrywide denies bankruptcy rumors.

The federal agency monitoring the bankruptcy courts has subpoenaed Countrywide Financial, the nation’s largest mortgage lender and loan servicer, to determine whether the company’s conduct in two foreclosures in southern Florida represented abuses of the bankruptcy system.

Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) announced today (August 16) that it has supplemented its funding liquidity position by drawing on an $11.5 billion credit facility.