- NEWS
- Auld Dubliner tries to break world record 1 hour & 6 minutes ago
- Corporate O.C. practices purposeful giving 2 hours & 57 minutes ago
- Fear, distrust surround Capo teacher negotiations 1 hour & 58 minutes ago
- Poll: Brown, Whitman deadlocked in race for governor
- SPORTS
- Bruins tailgate: 11-21-09 3 hours & 34 minutes ago
- UCLA stops Arizona State, 23-13 2 hours & 42 minutes ago
- Live updates from 'UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin 2' 1 hour & 24 minutes ago
- Skater loses deal in fight over hockey stick 3 hours & 22 minutes ago
- BUSINESS
- ENTERTAINMENT
- LIFE
- TRAVEL
- OPINION
Big layoffs at Countrywide?
September 4th, 2007, 4:44 pm · 20 Comments · posted by Mathew Padilla
National Mortgage News reports that Countrywide Financial Corp. may cut 7,000 to 10,000 jobs, citing “industry officials close to the situation.”
Here’s more:
If the job cuts become reality, it would be one of the largest layoffs in mortgage history — outside of a bankruptcy filing. (The nation’s largest lender employs about 60,000.) The company is also planning to take a multimillion-dollar writedown on its “held for sale” portfolio of mortgages, one source said. A company spokesman would not comment on specifics, but said the company has “always aligned its organization to best serve the needs of its customers and reflect the market and economic conditions in which we operate.” He added that, “While as a matter of policy we don’t comment on speculation, any changes to the Countrywide organization will reflect our ongoing strategy to align our business to the marketplace. The company’s organizational strategy throughout this year has been consistent with that approach.”
20 Comments
Leave a Reply
-
ADVERTISEMENT
-
-
Meltdown coverage...-
Contact the blogger!
You can email mapadilla(at)ocregister.com by CLICKING HERE
- Lansner's latest
- Calculated Risk
-
-
-
ADVERTISEMENT
Who will help current million homebuyers to refinance?
I heard a rumor it was closer to 25K, but seems high to me.
Where is sunsetbeachguy? Padilla is breaking the insider news.
Just what we need more layoffs.
Wait a minute. Didn’t they just announce about 1 month ago that they were hiring 6500 people? Oh, that’s right, that was just a ploy so the CEO could cash out a couple more million shares of stock. Mozilo is such a criminal.
So let me get this right. The private company called the federal reserve, led by Ben Bernanke, used our tax dollars to GIVE to Countrywide in exchange for Countrywide’s worthless loans, in an attempt to make sure Countrywide did not file for bankruptcy. All the while the CEO of Countrywide, Mozilo, continued to sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stocks and exercised options.
Hmmmm, where could Countrywide have obtained money to stave off bankruptcy. Oh, I know, as of 8-30-07 they owned 11462 homes in the U.S. of A. They are the proud owners of 2691 homes just in California. If you look at MLS the pricing of their homes isn’t even competitive and they are way above comps. Like anyone strapped for cash, they could have sent their homes for sale and obtained the money they needed. Nope, they didn’t. But why you ask.
Why wouldn’t they want to sell their homes? They have to pay taxes, association fees, upkeep etc. ANSWER: Bernanke gives them your tax dollars to live on while devaluing your wages and savings.
We should all be outraged. Countrywide should be forced to sell or at least make their REOs competitive before they steal our tax money. Bernanke: Republican, Bush: Republican, Mozilo: Republican. If you want these criminals to continue to steal from your children vote Republican in 2008. If you want it to stop, you better look at the candidate who wants to abolish the federal reserve company and return the power of the purse back to Congress. They only person who has said he will do it is Ron Paul. Good enough for me.
There are rumors please only give facts. Has the OC register turn into rags like in New York? People are losing jobs that really like and enjoyed ging to. Going back to the basics will allow everyone be better off. You can be an Underwriter today as because the day before you were haisrstylist.
Looks like the early 90s all over again this time its the mortgage and real estate related companies instead of the aero space industry laying off thousands and driving the local economy and home prices down the real scary picture is what industry will hire all these people looking for jobs CA has driven most business out of the state with high cost housing, cloogged freeways and failing over crowded schools not too mention high taxes this was one of the few industries that was driving employment growth and home values get ready for a rough ride and plunging home values for the next several years remember Countrywide is the leader in the mortgage industry if they are laying off thousands they know the home sales are going to get even worse otherwise they wouldn’t be doing this
Predatory loan sharks at Countrywide? Hardly. Countrywide was just doing what the rest of the MARKET was doing to maintain market share. “Creative financing” was not invented by Countrywide, but was popularized by the crooks in Irvine and it became so big that Countrywide had to jump on that bandwagon in order to compete. Unfortunately, once that whole ponzi scheme fell apart, Countrwide suffered as well. Countrywide is more guilty of succumbing to peer pressure against its better judgment. Yes, Countrwide as well as every other lender that promoted subprime borrowing deserves whatever economic punishment befalls them.
As far as being a loan shark, the borrowers have lost nothing. They give up a home they had ZERO equity in to begin with and had ZERO chance of ever living in if they didn’t get a subprime loan. These unqualified homeowners can always go back to renting, where they belonged in the first place - no big deal.
Go, go, go….I truly hope that Countrywide goes bankrupt; I truly hope that the economy suffers like in the 90s. I own my house free and clear and am looking to buy another primarily with cash. Being a cash buyer of everything is very frustrating when prices of everything are driven up by a culture drunk on credit that is willing to waste the rest of their lives being obligated to a job to pay debt expenses.
As a former AHM employee let me tell you that there are a lot of good and honest people in our industry. It is sad for all of us that the people at the top got so greedy. This refers not only to the CEOs and senior management in the mortgage industry, but to the Wall St. investors who were also looking to make a quick buck. Had they not indicated they were willing to and axious to purchase these risky loans, companie’s such as AHM, Countrywide, Impac, etc. would not have been able to offer them to the public. We are in a competative industry, just like any other industry. If one company is selling 100% CLTV stated income/asset loans, the rest must follow or loose a significant amount of business.
Meanwhile, there are people all over who are hurting right now, both the homeowners and employees who have been laid off that can now no longer afford their own house payment.
There but for the grace of God go you, and you, and you…….
Republican Clowns just a FYI Mozilo hasn’t sold any stock he sold stock options that were set to expire which means if he doesn’t sell those options he looses any money he might gain from them.
The whole housing market turmoil has long been coming and there are changes the need to be made in the granting of home loans. If anything the borrowers of loans will benefit from this turmoil. Countrywide is at the fore front because it is so huge, so naturally they are the main target.
BUT lenders are not the only ones to blame, people that went looking for loans have a responsibility to make sure they are going to be able to afford the loan they are getting. I don’t understand how someone can go out and get a 600k loan and not spend 200 to 300 to pay an attny to go over the loan docs with them to make sure they understand what they are getting into and what the note and deed says.
People are so quick to blame someone else but come on people grow up take charge of your life.
I mean give me a break, your signing a contact and people don’t know what they are signing because they don’t take the time to read what they are signing.
The mortgage lenders are there to make money its a business, commissions and penalties are set so a person doesn’t refinance a loan in two to three years. Most of the money made on a loan is within the first 2-5 years.
Don’t get me wrong there are changes that need to happen in the industry mainly in the area of better underwriting, getting rid of loans with un documented incomes, and laws that make sure the borrowers understand the loan they are getting into and verifying that they will be able to afford that loan in the future.
shadow,
WRONG!!!
Sounds like you’re buying Mozilo’s lies.
He has sold hundreds of millions in stock. Yes, it was stock acquired by granting himself millions of stock options. So what? He could have sold a small portion of the stock in a “cashless exercise” and held onto the bulk of the stock. But, no, he dumped every last share he exercised.
Stop being so gullible!
Shadow,
According to Mozilo about 1 week ago, during an interview with Maria Bartiromo he sold tons of shares of stock and excercised alot of options. If you go to any stock research website and punch in CFC insider trading it will list the amount Mozilo excercised and sold. When CFC files bankruptcy look for his friends at the SEC to file some sort of charges against him.
Billionaire Bond and Fund Managers are working hard with President Bush. Government will bail them out and prevent housing industry from collapsing. Time to go sailing.
California Highway Patrol is hiring. It is an honorable job with basic requirements honest, integrity, and high school diploma. Excellent benefits and health insurance.
Looks like the only people left in OC will be bitter renters and cash rich haters………..thank god the world is not full of people like you. If you don’t understand the word recession, look it up. That’s what’s coming…