Countrywide CEO Mozilo Gives Up 40 Million Dollar Severance Package

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Do you think that Angelo Mozilo giving up his 40 million dollar severance package is from the goodness of his heart or to mollify his guilt? Let’s face it, Countrywide placed a number of big bets on the mortgage industry to maintain it’s growth and most now have turned up poorly.

So the Countrywide merger with takeover by Bank of America was one of saving the company, not one of growth and optimism. Mozilo did the right thing, probably for the wrong reasons.

In a statement released early Monday, Mozilo explained that his focus “is to do what is in the best interests of Countrywide employees, customers and shareholders.”
Despite the multi-million-dollar gesture, Mozilo will still walk away a rich man. He will keep his retirement benefits and deferred compensation, totaling more than $40 million, a recent proxy statement said, according to Associated Press.
For now, he remains a substantial stockholder and an employee of Countrywide.
Mozilo’s employment agreement with Countrywide entitled him to $36.4 million in cash severance and $400,000 a year in consulting fees, in addition to the use of a private airplane and other amenities. via  CNN.com.