Countrywide Financial Corp. released fourth quarter results Tuesday, missing Wall Street expectations but still gaining thanks to speculation of a merger with Bank of America.

The nation’s largest mortgage lender reported fourth quarter net income of $622 million ($1.01 per share), a 2.7 percent decline from $639 million ($1.03) for the same period a year earlier, missing analysts’ projections of $1.03 per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Revenue for the Calabasas lender also slid 6 percent to $2.76 billion; analysts had projected $2.8 billion.

Chairman and Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo painted a bleak outlook for the company and the real estate industry in a statement saying that the company faced “home price depreciation, slowing home sales, declining production volumes, and pressure on credit quality” this year.

However, despite that grim forecast shares in Countrywide were still riding speculation of a possible merger or partnership with Bank of America, the country’s largest bank. Shares were up 17 cents to $43.55 in midday trading Tuesday.