The new facility will house administrative offices of Countrywide Bank, according to Countrywide spokesman Rick Simon, who tells GlobeSt.com that the building was constructed in 1983 and originally was home to an oil and gas unit of Exxon Corp. The seller had owned it since November 2000.

The office building is known as the Thousand Oaks Corporate Center and is fully leased, so Countrywide expects to occupy the property in stages as leases expire or tenants' space needs diminish. Jim Travers and Steve Eyler of Travers Realty/Oncor International represented Countrywide in the acquisition.

Countrywide Bank is a division of Treasury Bank, which in turn is a subsidiary of Countrywide Credit Industries. The parent firm is a provider of diversified financial services. The company said the new space will accommodate growth in western Los Angeles and eastern Ventura counties. It currently occupies three office buildings in the Calabasas area, and recently purchased a two-building, 160,500-sf complex in Agoura Hills, which it began occupying in the third quarter of 2002. The company owns or leases additional corporate office space nearby in Simi Valley, Moorpark and West Hills, and occupies additional facilities in Lancaster, Pasadena, Rosemead and Irvine, Calif., plus a facility in Plano, Texas.

Countrywide Credit Industries provides consumer and business-to-business financial services, including mortgages, insurance and other financial products. It employs more than 20,000 workers in more than 500 offices. Countrywide Bank provides money market accounts, individual retirement accounts, certificates of deposit and interest-bearing checking and savings accounts.