Financial Firms Fail To Meet Job Targets

Washington Mutual had a target of creating 2,400 jobs last year, but it reported only 2,208. Like Countrywide, it has surplus credits to keep it in compliance, Castle said.

The AP has sought to obtain under the Texas Public Information Act the enterprise fund certification letters Countrywide and Washington Mutual filed with the state. Perry's office is trying to block the release of those documents and has asked the attorney general to allow them to be kept secret. Perry's office says the information is proprietary and could cause competitive harm to Countrywide and Washington if released.

Late Thursday, Perry's office provided the AP with a synopsis of the job creation numbers it said the companies reported in January.

Castle said the governor is not shutting off access to government spending information.

"The governor is an advocate for transparency and accountability in state government," she said. "We've provided the job creation totals."

Countrywide received $20 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund under its agreement signed in 2004. Bank of America bought Countrywide last year, taking over a company that was at the epicenter of the mortgage crisis.