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Privacy and Security in The Countrywide family
Your Privacy
The opportunities you deserve, the privacy you expect
Countrywide Financial Corporation, a trusted leader for over 35 years in the home loan industry, offers a wide range of financial products and services through our family of companies. This section explains how the Countrywide family of companies protects and uses your information in a safe, secure and responsible manner.
 
We offer you products and services at a lower cost or with greater convenience by sharing limited information within our Countrywide family of companies and with carefully selected business partners.
 
Your protection is our priority

We strive to safeguard your data. We do this by:

  • setting policies and procedures for carefully handling your information;
  • limiting employee access to sensitive information;
  • protecting against unauthorized access to customer data using data encryption, authentication, and virus detection technology;
  • requiring service providers who do business with Countrywide to comply with privacy laws;
  • auditing company security practices;
  • monitoring our websites through recognized online privacy and security organizations such as Cybertrust Corporation; and
  • conducting background checks on all employees and providing privacy training.

Cybertrust® Certified Logo

About our websites Back to top

Our systems automatically switch to "secure" mode when you are asked to enter personal information on a Countrywide website (such as your loan number, account number or social security number). To keep your data safe, we use:

  • Encryption and authentication technology
  • Website design that blocks or limits online display of customer information when not necessary to the transaction
  • IDs and passwords to protect customer information

For more details on Internet security, please see our "About Internet Security" section

   
Use of cookies, Web beacons and similar files Back to top

We design many features of our website so new visitors may anonymously learn about our products and services, view todays rates and use our educational tools without revealing their identity. For new visitors, we use "cookies" and Web beacons to collect limited data (such as the date, time and areas of our website visited and the website the new visitor came from). When you select one of our products or services, review your accounts online or respond to marketing materials sent to you directly, we will try to identify your browser and may combine information from "cookies," Web beacons and other information collected online with any other data we maintain about you. By improving the marketing and content of our website and making your online experience more convenient, we are able to better serve our customers' financial needs.

Cookies are required to access your online accounts
You can have your Web browser disable "cookies" but if you turn off "cookies," it is not possible to access your online accounts. Cookies are used for security purposes when you log into your account so that we can recognize your computer. Cookies used to access your online account are encrypted and used solely to support your online account activity.

Similar files
Countrywide sometimes uses technologies similar to cookies to store information. For example, we also use files called Flash objects to help assure security as part of the online account log-in process. Flash object files are also encrypted and used solely to support your online account activity.
 
Benefits to sharing within the Countrywide family Back to top
To offer and recommend valuable products and services, we may share customer and former customer information within our Countrywide family. All of these Countrywide companies follow the same policies and procedures described in this section.
 
  • New Home Loans - Countrywide Bank, FSB offers new home loans, home equity loans and lines of credit and many refinancing options.
  • Home Loan Servicing - Countrywide Home Loan Servicing LP provides industry-leading customer service and easy access to your home loan account information.
  • Insurance - The Countrywide Insurance Group of companies * offer homeowners, life, auto, disability, home warranty and other insurance products.
  • Loan Closing Services - The LandSafe family of companies offers title and escrow services, title insurance, credit reporting, property appraisals and flood zone determinations.
  • Investments - Countrywide Investment Services, Inc. offers investment planning, mutual funds, IRAs, Roth IRAs, IRA and 401(K) rollovers, stocks, bonds, and fixed and variable annuities.
  • Banking - Countrywide Bank, FSB offers savings, CDs, money market accounts, new home loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, and many refinancing options.
  • New Products and Services - We may expand to offer you new products and services by forming, acquiring or merging with a new company.
 
As Countrywide Financial continues to expand its Global Operations, we also look for ways to enhance customer satisfaction in the United States by using our resources overseas. Our mission is to quickly respond to your homeownership and financial needs at all hours of the day.
 
Benefits to sharing outside the Countrywide family Back to top

To make products and services available, often at a savings to you, we may prudently share some customer and former customer non-public personal information with business partners under an agreement requiring the partner to keep the information confidential and only use it for those offers.

 
How we obtain and use information Back to top
To fund and service your loan, comply with government regulations, improve our products and services, and better understand your financial needs, we collect and maintain customer and former customer data. We collect information:

  • you provide us on applications and other forms (such as your phone, Social Security and account numbers, assets, income and employment history);
  • about your transactions with us (such as your loan balance, payment history and other account information);
  • about your credit history from a credit reporting agency; and
  • about you or your property from business partners and service providers (such as a property appraisal, purchase contract or membership number).

We disclose some of this data to third parties (such as credit reporting agencies, regulators and loan investors). We may share some of this information with companies performing services on our behalf (such as the vendor who prepares our monthly statements). These service providers agree to keep the information confidential and not use it for any other purpose.

Additionally, to provide you with valuable product and service offerings, we share limited information (such as a list of customers in a certain income range) within our Countrywide family of companies and with business partners who are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

 
You have choices Back to top
You may limit how we share your personal information. This is called a right to "opt out." You have three options to consider.
  1. Continue receiving valuable and convenient product and service offers
    You can enjoy the benefits of valuable product and service offerings without taking any action.
  2. Opt out of information sharing outside the Countrywide family of companies
    This choice would stop us from sharing non-public personal information with our carefully screened business partners. This may limit our ability to inform you of valuable and convenient products and services from partner companies.
  3. Opt out of information sharing within the Countrywide family of companies
    This choice would stop us from sharing non-public personal information within the Countrywide family of companies. This may limit our ability to offer conveniences such as a tailored savings quote on homeowners insurance, a custom financial investment plan, and other financial service offers.

We honor our customers' privacy choices across the family of companies. For loans to multiple borrowers, we will apply an opt out by any borrower to all borrowers on the loan. If you opt out, we will continue to share non-public personal information with our service providers (such as the vendor who prepares our monthly statements), with third parties as required or permitted by law (such as credit reporting agencies or regulators), and share transaction and experience information (such as your loan balance or payment history) within the Countrywide family of companies.

During the application process, you will receive a privacy notice that includes a toll-free telephone number to call if you want to opt-out. Please have your account and billing information available when you call. If you have any questions about our privacy policy, please send an e-mail message to privacypolicy@countrywide.com.

In today's dynamic market, opting out may mean missing timely information about products and services that help you accomplish your homeownership and other financial goals. It's something to think about carefully. We don't want you to miss out on any opportunities.

 
In some states, we have different information sharing practices Back to top

Please review the website privacy notices of the companies listed below for state-specific information of other members of the Countrywide family:

Countrywide Home Loans
Countrywide Insurance Services
Balboa Insurance Group
Countrywide Investments
Countrywide Bank
 
Companies not covered under this section Back to top

Some companies in the Countrywide family have different information sharing practices. Please see their websites for more information.

Countrywide websites may contain links to other companies not in the Countrywide family for your convenience and information. If you access those links, you will leave the Countrywide website. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any company before submitting your personal information.