Mozilo: Countrywide wants to double its branches
September 18th, 2007, 5:25 pm · 13 Comments · posted by John Gittelsohn
Staff writer John Gittelsohn reports:
Countrywide’s CEO Angelo Mozilo would like to double the number of branches his company operates in the next four to six months, saying he is “bullish, very bullish, on our future” despite recent announcements he would lay off 12,000 employees.
Reuters quotes Mozilo, who spoke at a conference in San Francisco after the Fed announced its rate cut, as saying that his company has “turned the corner” and begun to win back depositors after a short run on the bank last month.
The story also quotes Mozilo, who co-founded Countrywide Financial Corp. in 1969, saying he wants the federal cap on “jumbo” mortgages raised to $850,000 nationwide or tied to local housing prices.
The current starting point for jumbo loans is above $417,000. Typically, you’ll see an interest rate of about 1 percent above smaller “conforming” loans. Jumbo loans have also been in short supply since the summer’s liquidity crisis, because they cannot be bought by government-backed entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The median home price in Orange County in August was $642,250. About 60 percent of home buyers in Orange County took out jumbo loans during the first six months of this year, according to DataQuick.
Click here to see the Reuters report.
September 18th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Is he crazy? lay off 12000 and put out more branches, I guess he will pick up some homeless guys doing loans and deposits.
September 18th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
This Guy Is A Joke
3 weeks ago he was begging the Fed to bring down interest rates as low as possible saying this is the worst credit crunch he had ever seen. He lays off 12,000 workers and what now he wants to expand 3 weeks later. Something is awefully funny here.
Mozilo like every main Wall Street player are egging on the Fed. Meanwhile the Fed is being played - the players are crying to them telling them how bad the situation is but first sign of Fed intervention and all of a sudden there is euphoria in the markets and euphoria from Countrywide. Well if the situation is that bad - 50 basis points are not going to make a difference. An opposing hypothesis is that the main players are doing okay and the situation for them is only slightly unstable at this time period. Thereby a little help from the Fed does wonders as it is too little help to assist the truly endangered companies but enough for the big players - giving them a larger share of the market cap.
It was so funny 2-3 weeks ago when the market was going through its bipolar phase of up, down, up, down. Wall street started begging the Fed to intervene where we hadn’t yet seen any significant market correction (over 5%). Yet when the Fed started hinting at offering help the Dow when right up immediately as if no credit crunch was taking place.
The Fed is being played with by Wall Street and Countrywide. The beg and he delivers.
The Fed answered today and sent a huge message: Bailing out risk takers is more important than the value of the american dollar.
The had their choice and they made it. What the repercussions will be who knows - certainly inflation will hit harder, international travel using the US dollar just became a whole lot more expensive, but who know the extent of what will happen. All we know is what the Feds values are - or at least what the Feds values are this close to a presidential election.
I am not surprised in fact I predicted it over a year ago. The Fed will do anything it can to avoid blame for an economic recession near an election. They don’t want to have a presidential candidate critique them or point fingers.
Besides the US always favors risk takers over investment conservatives - that is not necessarily a bad thing. I just finished school 4 years ago and haven’t had the finances to play the game before but I know the game I am playing now.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
The Fed is being played - the players are crying to them telling them how bad the situation is but first sign of Fed intervention and all of a sudden there is euphoria in the markets and euphoria from Countrywide. Well if the situation is that bad - 50 basis points are not going to make a difference. An opposing hypothesis is that the main players are doing fine and the situation for them is only slightly unstable at this time period. Thereby, a little help from the Fed does wonders as it is too little to assist the truly endangered companies but enough for the big players - giving them a larger share of the market cap.
It was so funny 2-3 weeks ago when the market was going through its bipolar phase of up, down, up, down. The market fell 200 points and many expected a sustained downturn in Wall street. Well Wall street started begging the Fed to intervene when we hadn’t even seen any significant market correction. Yet when the Fed started hinting at offering help the Dow when right up immediately as if no credit crunch was taking place.
The Fed is being played with by Wall Street and Countrywide. They beg and the Fed delivers. The Fed of course was designed predominantly to set policy for and stabilize the dollar. Not to bail out any markets - whether it be wall street, dot.com’s, real estate, etc.
The Fed answered today and sent a critical message: Bailing out risk takers is more important than the value of the american dollar. That is, they know view their job as different than its initial design. They feel it is more important to slow or minimize market crashes than it is to sustain and protect the value of the dollar - its original purpose.
The Fed had a choice and they made it. What the repercussions will be who knows - certainly inflation will hit harder, international travel using the US dollar just became a whole lot more expensive, but who know the extent of what will happen. All we know is what the Feds values are - or at least what the Feds values are this close to a presidential election.
I am not surprised in fact I predicted it over a year ago. The Fed will do anything it can to avoid blame for an economic recession near an election. They don’t want to have a presidential candidate critique them or point fingers.
Besides the US always favors risk takers over investment conservatives - that is not necessarily a bad thing. I just finished school 4 years ago and haven’t had the finances to play the game before but I know the game I am playing now. In fact, the Feds assymetric policy (cut rates to minimize corrections but don’t raise rates to slow hypermanic markets) only leads to more volatility and cyclical booms - and as we know the more volatility the more room there is to make money.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Mozilo is not an idiot! In fact, he is smarter than you. It’s okay, just admit it. He got his Republican friends at the Federal Reserve to illegally take tax revenue and give it to Mozilo. They did this by purchasing the bad loans that Mozilo profited from and dumped onto the Federal Reserve books. Then he is going to take this tax money and invest it in himself, better known as CFC. Mozilo and his buddies in charge have figured out a way to create a financial ponzi scheme/system that is too complicated for the masses to figure out.
September 19th, 2007 at 2:53 am
You guys missed the point. He said braches but not what business those branches will entail. Judging by their property “portfolio” these branches will not only help you get a loan but they will have property to sell as well.
Matt,
I just checked the foreclosure numbers and the notice of trustee sales really ramped up. In the 23 business days of August 594 NTSs were recorded and in the 9 (yes nine 9) business days 397 NTSs have been recorded. This isn’t just ugly, this is horrendous.
September 19th, 2007 at 11:31 am
It’s call “Ambition” for Coutrywide may want to become the next “too big to fail” bank and to rub shoulders with the Fed and join the big league: Citi, BoA, Wells — if this plays out, “buy and hold” CFC shares may be a good long investment bet.
September 20th, 2007 at 1:52 am
Is Shadow kidding or just dumb. First of all, it IS the government’s job to make important decisions like protecting our currency and banking system by punishing criminal activity. That is why there we have laws, the SEC and Banking Regulations. Secondly, you contradicted yourself by saying that people shouldn’t be bailed out but completely ignore the fact that the bailout was actually for CFC. When did it become the governments job to BAILOUT companies like CFC? Finally, CFC is running the country. They are one of the 12 purchasing banks and run the lending system through the monetary policy actions at the federal reserve. The Constitution says no body other than the House of Representatives shall levy taxes on the citizens. The Federal Reserve unlawfully raised our taxes by giving CFC tax revenue for the bad loans made by ignoring lending standards. Stupidity should be painful, and it will be. You will pay for the stupidity of the masses and the criminal activity at countrywide. You need to wake up. The Federal Reserve has Mozilo’s home phone number on speed dial, I bet they don’t have the “normal” folks on speed dial.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:39 am
Mr Republic I am awake but I am sorry where did I say it wasn’t the govt job to make important decisions BASED on the economy. I was referring to personal decisions that people make that affect their own lives. Such as getting a mortgage they couldn’t afford but didn’t take the time to make sure that they read and fully understood the loan they were getting.
You seem to think Countrywide is the one that started this whole mess. If fact Countrywide made the mistake of jumping on the train in regards to sub prime loans that was chugging along the financial railroad in order to stay ahead in the industry.
Countrywide didn’t do anything criminal where is your proof of that? Seriously what countrywide is guilty of doing was offering loans people could not afford. Now here is the part you seem to have missed. Brokers and other individually that jumped on the housing wagon to make a quick buck are the ones that helped put some of these people into loans set to fail. By inflating their incomes by putting them in loans where they will make more commissions. These are the people that are criminal. Not all brokers and such fall into these categories but the small majority that do are the ones that need to be brought to the courts.
Raising taxes to bail out countrywide? Lowering the interest rate because of Countrywide, yeah it was just because of countrywide, that’s the only reason this is happening.
Since CFC was the “only” mortgage company out there making sub prime loans if Must be all their fault. All the other mortgage companies didn’t have a hand in that they never originated any sub prime loans.
Does there need to be a change in the kind of loans out their. Hell yes, I find it stupefying that someone can get a home loan without documented income.
Its a 50/50 issue Mortgage companies for making available loans that people cant afford and people not reading and making sure they understand what they are signing and that they can afford it.
September 20th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Check out the recently updated http://www.eyeoncountrywide.info, an independent consumer resource examining sub-prime lending and Countrywide Financial Corporation
September 21st, 2007 at 2:22 am
Shadow,
I know you were referring to the decisions that individuals make my point was that Corporations ALSO need to be responsible for their decisions. I never said Countrywide started this mess, I KNOW who started this mess. It was Easy Al Greenspan and Helicopter Ben Bernanke. They printed 400 times more money since 1991 than our country created from 1776 to 1991 (source: Minyanville). My second point was that people keep repeating what Mozilo said on CNBC…”We just did what everyone else did.” Sounds exactly like the defense of the Los Angeles and New Orleans criminals that were involved in the riots. Countrywide gets the most attention because 1-they are the largest lender in the country 2-they have an unfair competative advantage as being one of the 12 banks tied to the federal reserve and 3-they are one shady company.
October 17th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
i work at cwbank - i am seeking employment elshwere because the management that is running the place has no banking expereince whatsoever! cfc stated that 89% of sept loans were funded by cwb - LIARS! the bank has slowed down in productions, the staff has nothing to do. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO. so if the bank really funded all those loans; the bank would be a mad house !