Countrywide's Mozilo to voluntarily give up $37.5M in severance

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Los Angeles Business from bizjournals

Angelo Mozilo, chairman and chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial Corp. will voluntarily give up his rights to about $37.5 million in cash severance payments, $400,000 per year of post-closing consulting fees and continued "perquisites" like private airplane use in connection with the company's sale to Bank of America Corp., Countrywide said Monday.

Mozilo will not receive any cash payments in the merger or any employment termination benefits other than what he has already earned in full, like retirement benefits and deferred compensation, according to a release. He remains a "substantial stockholder" and his common stock and employee equity awards will be treated the same as other stockholders and employees in the merger, according to a release.

Calabasas-based Countrywide (NYSE: CFC) is financial services provider that originates, purchases, sells and services residential and commercial loans.

Read more: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2008/01/28/daily3.html

[Gormy Cuss]

1. My heart bleeds for him.

He's forgoing a third of his severance at best, and he sold $140M in Countrywide stock last year when it must have been obvious that there was an implosion coming.

Still, that 37.5M would go a long way towards refinanced a bunch of mortgages for Countrywide customers, or to pay more severance benefits to the workers laid off because of his poor management.

[slackmaster]

2. I play him a tune on the world's smallest working violin

:nopity:

Mozilo and his wife own FOUR residential properties in Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, and La Quinta (Riverside Co.) that are ASSESSED at a total of well over $5 million.

I feel so sorry for them trying to figure out where to hang out. BTW, looks like he likes to play golf, a game for village idiots.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. I totally agree with, and enjoyed your assessment of golf.

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. Isn't he keeping several hundred million though?

I heard on this morning's news that this "selfless sacrifice" represents only about 15% of his total take from the company (pun intended) during 2007.

[slackmaster]

4. He won't feel any pain whatsoever

:argh:

[kimmylavin]

5. But how is he supposed to live???

:sarcasm: