Countrywide Financial Corp. reported that net earnings rose slightly to $648 million or $1.03 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2006, compared to earnings of $634 million or $1.03 per share in the comparable period a year ago. Revenues rose 4 percent to $2.8 billion compared to $2.7 billion in the Sept. 30, 2005 quarter. While pre-tax earnings in the company’s mortgage banking segment fell 40 percent in the third quarter compared to the prior year, pre-tax earnings in Countrywide’s banking sector rose 33 percent and the capital markets sector saw a 53 percent increase in pre-tax earnings.
