NJ Gets $3.7 Million In Countrywide Settlement

California-based Countrywide, once the largest U.S. mortgage lender, was among the companies whose risky lending habits led to the nation's financial meltdown. Since the collapse of the subprime mortgage market last summer, Countrywide has been hit with lawsuits by investors, consumers, and multiple state and federal officials.

Thirty states have signed agreements with Bank of America Corp., which acquired Countrywide last year and announced in October that it would pay more than $8 billion for interest rate and principal reductions for nearly 400,000 customers nationwide.