Countrywide slides on dim outlook

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Countrywide Financial shares were off lows but fell more than 8 percent Friday, a day after the nation's largest mortgage lender said disorder in credit and mortgage markets could hurt the company and its financial condition.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Countrywide said Thursday that "unprecedented" poor conditions in the secondary-mortgage market are causing the lender to keep a larger portion of mortgage loans than it sells and said the fallout could impact future earnings.

Shares of Countrywide (down $2.45 to $26.21, Charts, Fortune 500) slid 8.7 percent during midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Its shares fell as much as 14 percent to $24.71 earlier in the session.

Earlier in the week, Countrywide said it still has access to capital, despite the credit crunch.

-- from staff and wire reports