Countrywide exec still part of jet set; this is Sickening;a trip on people who have lost their homes

[EV_Ares]

Is David Sambol, the departing president of Countrywide Financial Corp., taking one last joy ride on the company jet?

A source close to the company says Sambol is leaving Saturday on a three-week family vacation to Africa on Countrywide's elegant Gulfstream IV.



In a telephone interview Friday, Sambol would not confirm the trip, but he didn't dispute it either.

"This is a personal matter involving my family and I would like to protect my privacy," Sambol said, adding that "everything I am doing is in connection with my agreements with the company."

Calabasas-based Countrywide nearly collapsed under the weight of defaulting mortgage loans last year, and its acquisition by Bank of America Corp. was completed last month.

Under his exit deal with BofA, the 48-year-old Sambol will be paid a severance package valued at $28 million in cash and stock, plus a host of fringe benefits, including access to the company jet for both business and personal travel as long as he is employed.

Sambol said he was leaving the company shortly. Bank of America declined to comment. In a regulatory filing, the bank said Sambol's personal use of the company jet "would be limited," but it didn't say to what degree.

Sambol's reported use of the jet for a family vacation to Africa was described to The Times by a person with knowledge of Countrywide's flight operations, who was not authorized to speak for the company and requested anonymity.

BofA will also pay Sambol's country club dues and financial consulting services he uses through the end of 2009, according to a regulatory filing.

Link for entire article: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-countrywide2-2008aug02,0,4279484.story

[ixion]

1. yeah, CEO's love their privacy... and their luxury

it's just us peons that deserve to live in a 24hr surveillance state hell hole.

[madeline_con]

2. Why did so many people lose their homes?

Did they sign adjustable mortgage agreements they weren't positive they'd be able to pay as rates increased?


Is this really the fault of the lender? Doesn't the homeowner have some responsibility to borrow only what he/she can handle?

Is this because people have lost jobs? Either way, that can't be blamed on the lender.

Feel free to jump in and correct me. I may be completely misinterpreting the main reasons for the "crisis".

[lonestarnot]

4. And the lender shouldn't be able to determine from proof of income

and debt at the time of purchase that the person borrowing for the house couldn't make the payments if they went up? hmmmf. Job loss could even be forseeable in certain if not most cases.

[madeline_con]

7. I doubt if the lender(s) gave a crap, in many cases.

Hence the need for responsible lending, maybe consulting a second party for na opinion, talk to friends who've bought a could of times, etc.

[EV_Ares]

5. Some did but there were a lot of people mislead as well, many. They devised so

many different types of loans, even the people selling them didn't understand some of them. They got old people who didn't even need to change their loans and got them into these sub-primes and then when the rates jumped, a lot of them lost their homes. They got people talked into these loans who even qualified for a regular 30 yr mortgage.

No, a lot of people are not financial savy and these or many were complicated and sounded good to just ordinary honest people trying to make a living and wanted to own their own home.

[madeline_con]

8. So, dirty tactics on the lender(s)' part?

I still think with a major purchase, people would research and ask everyone questions.

I asked my mother and a coworker, and when both said the 10% adj we were being offered would screw us, we looked elsewhere. The red flag was when the broker couldn't explain the two loans (why two) and the terms so I could undertsand them. I thought someone with their experience should be able to break it down, so I balked and we found a 6.25 fixed rate soon after.

[EV_Ares]

9. Not everyone is you or me? I wouldn't get involved in one of them but everyone's

circumstances, financial knowledge, trusting (a lot of old people)is different and the lender has the responsibility of knowing what he is selling and the responsibility of not selling something he knows does not fit the client he/she is working with. There was no excuse for a lot of these people getting saddled with these loans.

The best way is for you to read up on a lot of this that went on for yourself and find out about it.

[madeline_con]

10. Thanks :) n/t

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

3. This is a publicly owned company with the stock symbol CFC

BofA and CFC are violating a fiduciary duty they have to anyone owning stock in CFC or BofA with this deal, in my opinion.

As I see it, they are dwindling the remaining assets of CFC instead of paying them out to any creditors/bond holders and/or stockholders.

[DemoTex]

6. Enron-esque.

Reminds me of my old buddy Kenny-boy Lay.

BTW: New DUers. DemoTex worked for and flew Ken Lay pre-Enron in Houston. LearJet 55s and Lockheed JetStar IIs.