Countrywide in mortgage pick

Press, 22 January 1988, Page 22

Countrywide in mortgage pick

Mortgage rates could be as low as 15 per cent by the end of the 1988 calendar year, says the managing director of Countrywide Bank, Mr Peter Martin. Mr Martin was in Christchurch yesterday for the annual general meeting of the UDC Endeavour Building Society, which Countrywide bought in September last year. He said Countrywide had already dropped its mortgage interest rates The ” October sharemarket crash had little effect on Countrywide, with applications for mortgages continuing at a high level, Mr Martin said. “There has been talk of a possible recession in the housing market but we have yet to see indications of this.”

The share price of Countrywide had risen in recent weeks, and the statutory holiday period gave investors time to consider the true worth of the company’s shares, he said. “The investors on the stockmarket, including some institutions, have come to realise the full significance of our shares. "Countrywide holds well secured and income producing assets, profitability is strong, net asset backing at 175 c a share considerably exceeds share price, and our financial position and capital gearing are very strong compared with the norms in the finance industry.” The meeting approved UDC Endeavour Building society changing its name to the Countrywide Endeavour Building Society.