BANKING AND FINANCE

Countrywide Funding Acquires $2.8-Billion Portfolio: Countrywide Funding Corp., the nation’s largest residential mortgage lender, said it acquired a $2.8-billion portfolio of single-family servicing rights from Residential Funding Corp., a unit of General Motors Acceptance Corp. The 9,000-loan portfolio is primarily made up of jumbo fixed-rate mortgages with an average size of $309,000, Countrywide said. In a separate announcement, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded its long-term rating on Countrywide Funding’s senior debt and subordinated debt. Moody’s also boosted its ratings on the senior debt and preferred stock of the lender’s parent, Countrywide Credit Industries Inc.