Countrywide Financial Corp. has acquired a KB Home mortgage unit and formed a partnership to make loans to KB customers. Officials at KB said they made the decision because the mortgage lending business has become far more complex in the 40 years since it has operated the subsidiary, requiring a larger offering of loans. “Homebuilding and financing have evolved into substantially larger and more sophisticated businesses ” said Bruce Karatz, chairman and CEO of KB in a press release. “We believe the transition to working directly with an established lending leader makes sense for the benefit of customers and business.” Terms of the deal between KB Home Mortgage Co. and Countrywide Home Loans, a unit of CFC, were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Countrywide will provide dedicated loan counselors to serve KB’s communities across the U.S., offering the same array of products Countrywide features. KB was the first large homebuilder to offer in-house mortgage services that are now commonplace in the industry, the company said. When it began to offer these loans in 1965, the company delivered less than 3,000 homes in four states. This year, KB expects to deliver nearly 40,000 homes in 13 states domestically and in France. The company has more than 500 communities across the U.S.