http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mozilo25apr25,1,5427984.storyBy Kathy M. Kristof, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 25, 2008
Angelo Mozilo, chief executive of Countrywide Financial Corp., earned $10.8 million and cashed out $121.5 million in stock gains as his company got hammered by losses on sub-prime loans last year.
The stock gains were earned when Mozilo exercised stock options and immediately sold them through so-called automatic trading plans, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing released Thursday.
As previously reported in The Times, these plans usually allow executives to sell shares in a regular pattern without worrying about insider trading allegations. However, in what experts called highly unusual moves, Mozilo executed two plans and amended one in the months before the sub-prime market's implosion.
The moves allowed him to vastly increase the number of shares he sold before Countrywide's stock tanked last fall. The SEC launched an investigation into stock trading at Countrywide late last year.
However, the 70-year-old CEO's annual pay plunged from previous years, when he ranked among the nation's most highly paid executives. He received $1.9 million in salary and $7.6 million in stock awards and options, and had $1.1 million added to the value of his company pension.
The company reported that Mozilo enjoyed perks worth $176,513, including $44,454 in rides on the company's jet; $23,755 in automobile use; $8,581 in country club dues; and $31,238 in company-paid tax and investment advice.
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