Mortgage volume at Countrywide Financial Corp. descended.

Fundings totaled $37.8 billion in November, falling 8 percent from October's level and 11 percent from the comparable month a year earlier, the Calabasas, Calif.-based lender announced today. The month's production consisted of 198,402 loans.

November's "operational results continued to reflect transitional market conditions," said Angelo R. Mozilo, chairman and chief executive, in the announcement.

Purchase originations accounted for $15.8 billion of November's volume, according to the announcement. Adjustable-rate mortgages represented $13.8 billion, and on a consolidated basis, $3.2 billion of the month's loans had a pay-option feature.

Home equity loan fundings edged down from October to $3.2 billion, and nonprime loan fundings also ticked down to $3.1 billion, the lender said.

Of the latest production, correspondents contributed $17.8 billion, the consumer markets division generated $12.8 billion, brokers originated $6.7 billion and the rest came from capital markets, according to the announcement.

The mortgage loan pipeline was $62 billion at Nov. 30, "indicative of strong funding volume for the remainder of the year," as it was $1 billion better than at October's end, Countrywide reported.

More than 8.1 million loans made up the $1.28 trillion servicing portfolio, which had delinquency of 4.57 percent for the month, the announcement said.