Countrywide Financial Corp. said Friday that it has notified regulators of its plans to apply for a federal savings bank charter, essentially making the company a savings and loan.

Analysts see the move by Countrywide, which is the nation’s largest mortgage lender, as an effort to lessen the burden put on the company by federal regulators.

“Regulators are a cost of doing business, so this looks like an effort to cut costs,” Mark Morgan, an analyst with New York-based Rochdale Securities said. “This isn’t a really big deal and shouldn’t affect the way the company does business or its strategy going forward.”

Morgan didn’t know why the company decided to make the move now and Countrywide said there was nothing specific to the timing of the announcement.

If the application is approved, Countrywide Bank, N.A. would be converted to a federal savings bank and Countrywide Financial Corp. would change all of its $88.9 billion in assets to a savings and loan holding company. Currently, the company is regulated by two federal entities, the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency. If the application is accepted, both Countrywide entities will be regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision alone, lessening the costs fo compliance, Morgan said.

In order to be considered a savings and loan, a lender has to have 85 percent or more or its lending operations tied to residential real estate and Countrywide fits that requirement, according to Morgan.

Shares in Countrywide were up 70 cents to $39.52 in early trading Friday.