Housing
City on the Brink: Charlotte's Recession-Era Unraveling
The U.S. financial meltdown, coupled with a major education crisis, left the city reeling.
This is the second part in a three-part series on the recent history of Charlotte. Part one explored Charlotte's rapid rise. On Thursday, part three will explore the city's future.
CHARLOTTE – In January 2008, Bank of America announced it was planning to purchase Countrywide Financial, a California-based firm that provided mortgages. Bank of America had previously stayed out of the home loan business. But Countrywide was on the ropes: It serviced $1.4 trillion in mortgages at the end of 2007, many of them subprime or loans with adjustable rates. When the housing bubble burst, Countrywide was doomed.