Florida Mortgage Report

Mozilo Caves in to Protect His Image?

Mozilo has been targeted by virtually everyone these days.  As the leader of Countrywide, he kept misinforming the public and his own employees saying things were better than they appeared, meanwhile selling of stock and finally selling Countrywide to Bank of America (B of A).  The stock selloff even prompted the SEC to investigate. 

Add to that the announcement that Mozilo would walk away with a golden parachute worth over $100 million potentially, and you can see how his image has been marred, making his tan appear to be more "tarnish" than baking in the sun too long.

Well, in a MarketWatch article this morning, it was announced that Mozilo was giving up $37.5 million.  He is also giving up his $400,000 annual consulting fee and use of the private jet.  Don't you just feel sorry for him?

"My primary focus today -- as it has been for the past 40 years -- is to do what is in the best interests of Countrywide's employees, customers and shareholders," Mozilo said in a statement.

"I believe this decision is the right thing to do as Countrywide works toward the successful completion of the merger with Bank of America."

He will keep his keep retirement benefits and deferred compensation that he has earned in full.  So, do you think he is caving in, trying to save face or not?

Is Bank of America Taking on Countrywide?

The latest thing to hit the airwaves, and I mean this second as there is nothing in print yet...

"BANK OF AMERICA IS IN THE FINAL STAGES TO ACQUIRE COUNTRYWIDE"

Hopefully by the time I end this post I will be able to link to some article with more details, but for now, let's just say, Countrywide is not going to go belly up, at least right now.  It goes without saying that the statements from CW about not going bankrupt are probably dependent on this deal going through and that may not happen, so they are not out of the woods yet.

I will update as I get more details...

(Update:  WSJ prints article finally)

In the Wall Street Journal article, it states that B of A is in advanced talks to acquire Countrywide Financial.  Here are some excerpts from the article that are of interest...

It isn't clear how quickly a deal might be struck, but two people familiar with the matter said it could occur very soon. It also is possible that an agreement could be delayed or fall apart altogether...

Countrywide's stock has plunged in recent days amid intensifying anxiety among investors over a continuing surge in defaults and foreclosures afflicting the Calabasas, Calif., lender and others in the mortgage industry as home prices fall and the threat of a recession grows...

Since then, Countrywide's default problems have continued to grow, sparking speculation that the company could face bankruptcy. Countrywide was forced to deny earlier this week that it planned to file for bankruptcy...

Remember that I have been mentioning that Bank of America would likely pick up the pieces from Countrywide.  Now it appears they want the whole thing, or at least want to ensure they get the best pieces and then can sell off the leftovers.