Countrywide CEO Mozilo Gives up $37.5 Million Severance

(NewsVisual, powered by Intellectspace) -- Facing harsh criticism surrounding the credit crisis, Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) CEO Angelo R Mozilo has agreed to forgo $37.5 million in severance pay and other fees that would reaped as a result of the mortgage lender’s impending sale to Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

Losses, defaults and lawsuits have Countrywide struggling, though the company’s fall hasn’t stopped Mozilo from being ranked as one of the highest paid US executives. The dismal status of Countrywide has led many in the political realm, including US presidential candidate Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to publicly question Mozilo’s hefty salary.

An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map offers insight into Mozilo’s past and present, through his noteworthy roles as a corporate executive and his ties to non-corporate entities. In addition to the success he has reaped at Countrywide, which he founded in 1969 and has since built to become a major global enterprise, Mozilo was the President and Vice Chairman of Indymac Bancorp, and until recently he was a Director for Home Depot Inc.

Mozilo also has multiple links to a number of non-corporate entities, including the Mortgage Banker Association, with which he was previously President, and he currently serves as a member of the Boards of Trustees for the National Housing Endowment, Fordham University and Gonzaga University.

$37.5 million in severance pay may seem like a lot to be giving up, but given the fact that he retains ample company shares and a substantial salary, it is doubtful that Mozilo’s continued income will be anything less than impressive. Also, his corporate experience and connections should have him bouncing back quickly once the deal between Countrywide and Bank of America is finalized.

Readers, do you think that the pressure Mozilo faced to forgo his severance was justified? Or does his 40 year role as Countrywide’s Founder, Chairman and CEO earn him the $37 million, despite the company’s turbulent year?

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).

Click here or copy this link into your Internet Explorer browser for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=302371e4-4d84-4b0e-9371-42d8bfde5e8f

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