Legg Mason analyst on Countrywide Financial (2007)

The fallout among smaller subprime lenders will give survivors like Countrywide even more market share. We liked the stock when it was trading at $44 a share and we see even more value now.

~ Legg Mason analyst Mitchel Penn, "Top Funds Stand by Subprime Stocks," Fortune, March 9, 2007

(Countrywide, which gets only 10 percent of its revenues from subprime lending, continues to deliver solid growth, he pointed out.)

Bill Miller: Countrywide Financial is worth $40 per share (2007)

After falling 20% in a only a few days on no news, and this after being down 50% for the year, CFC rallied over 30% in one day once they reported their results and indicated they would be profitable for the 4th quarter and expect to earn a reasonable return on equity of 10-15% for all of 2008. The price action on both sides was driven by emotion -- first fear, then relief -- and was hardly the result of a careful analysis of Countrywide's long term business value. That, by the way, we think is in the $40's compared to its current price of about $14-15.

~ Bill Miller, Legg Mason Value Trust 3rd Quarter 2007 letter, "Bill Miller: Countrywide Financial Is Worth $40/Share," Seeking Alpha, November 4, 2008

(Countrywide was acquired by Bank of America for less than $5/share in stock in July, 2008.)

WSJ: Did friends of Countrywide get preferential treatment on loans?

Countrywide Financial Corp. makes mortgage loans through a vast network of offices, brokers and call centers. But a few customers have gotten their loans a special way: through Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo.

These borrowers, known internally as "friends of Angelo" or FoA, include two former CEOs of Fannie Mae, the biggest buyer of Countrywide's mortgages, say people familiar with the matter.

One was James Johnson, a longtime Democratic Party power and an adviser to Sen. Barack Obama's campaign, who this past week was named to a panel that is vetting running-mate possibilities for the presumed nominee. Another was Franklin Raines, a onetime Clinton administration budget director, who left Fannie Mae amid an accounting scandal in 2004.

There is nothing illegal about a mortgage firm treating some borrowers better than others. But if Fannie Mae officials received special treatment, that could cause a political problem for the government-sponsored, shareholder-owned company.

Its code of conduct, a spokesman said, "requires the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest and prohibits acceptance of substantial gifts, including loans with preferential terms, from an organization seeking to do business with the company without prior review and approval by the company." The spokesman said the code has been in effect since the early 1990s.

~ The Wall Street Journal, "Countrywide Friends Got Good Loans," June 7, 2008, by Glenn R. Simpson and James R. Hagerty

Maria Bartiromo on Angelo Mozilo

Angelo Mozilo wants to make one thing perfectly clear: Countrywide Financial, whose stock is down more than 20% for the year, should not be lumped in with the subprime outfits that are getting hammered.

~ Maria Bartiromo, "Inside the Mortgage Crisis," BW, March 26, 2007

Nouriel Roubini on the $51 billion FHLB lifeline to Countrywide Financial

The widespread use of the FHLB system to provide liquidity — but more clearly bail out insolvent mortgage lenders — has been outright reckless. Countrywide alone — the poster child of the last decade of reckless and predatory lending practices — received a $51 billion loan from this semi-public system; in the absence of this public bailout Countrywide would have ended up where it should, i.e. into outright bankruptcy. And the largesse of the FHLB system does not stop at Countrywide. A system that usually provides a lending stock of about $150 billion has forked out loans amounting to over $750 billion in the last year with very little oversight of such staggering lending. The risk that this stealth bailout of many insolvent mortgage lenders will end up costing massive amounts of public money is now rising.

~ Nouriel Roubini, New York University economist, "Roubini: FHLB Lending ‘Reckless’," WSJ Economics blog, February 27, 2008

Thomas DiLorenzo on Countrywide Financial's commitment to CRA lending

In his April 26 New York Post article on the CRA entitled "The Real Scandal," Professor Liebowitz explains how the government's Fannie Mae Foundation singled out one bank in particular as the role model for all other banks in America in terms of its commitment to CRA lending: Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender, had committed to $600 billion in low-income or "subprime" loans as of 2003. Today, Countrywide is essentially bankrupted and has been merged with Bank of America.

~ Thomas DiLorenzo, "The CRA Scam and its Defenders," Mises.org, April 30, 2008

Jim Cramer on Countrywide Financial (2005)

I think Countrywide Financial is dirt cheap. They’ve just come through an incredibly tough tightening cycle.

~ Jim Cramer, CNBC’s "Mad Money," December 16, 2005

(Countrywide closed at 35.44.)

Credit Suisse sees Countrywide Financial earning $2.00 in 2008

Moshe Orenbuch, an analyst at Credit Suisse, raised his estimate for Countrywide earnings in 2008 to $2 a share from $1.60, compared with a projected loss of 28 cents a share for all of 2007.

He expects Countrywide to have solid profits from loan servicing, which includes collecting payments and handling other administrative tasks, such as foreclosures. Credit Suisse has done investment-banking work for Countrywide in the past year. Mr. Orenbuch has an "outperform" rating on the stock with a target price of $28. He says he doesn't own any Countrywide shares.

~ The Wall Street Journal, "Countrywide's Profit VowMay Call for Closer Look," October 30, 2007, by James R. Hagerty

Charles Schumer on Countrywide's borrowing from the Atlanta FHLB

Countrywide is treating the Federal Home Loan Bank system like its personal ATM.

~ Senator Charles Schumer, as written in a press release, "Countrywide BorrowingTriggers Call for Review," The Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2007, by James R. Hagerty

(As of Sept. 30, Countrywide Financial owed the Atlanta bank $51.1 billion, 77% more than the $28.8 billion it owed three months earlier. Although it is based in Calabasas, Calif., Countrywide deals with the Atlanta home-loan bank because Countrywide owns a savings bank based in Alexandria, Va., part of the Atlanta bank's territory.)

Countrywide Financial on loan forebearance

During the first 11 months of 2007, Countrywide helped more than 69,000 customers retain their homes through solutions such as loan modifications, long-term repayment plans, special forbearance and other options. We want to emphasize strongly that customers experiencing difficulty making their loan payments should contact us as soon as possible, even if they do not have a mortgage with a rate reset. Regardless of the reason for the payment difficulties, Countrywide wants to try to find reasonable solutions for our borrowers.

~ Steve Bailey, Countrywide Financial Senior Managing Director Loan Administration, "Countrywide and ACORN Work on Blueprint for Home Retention and Foreclosure Prevention," MarketWatch, December 21, 2007

FHLB's Alfred Dellibovi on Countrywide Financial

Countrywide is a very professional, very well run organization in my judgment, and I think there will always be a role for them. They're a very professional company that's been given a bumpy road.

~ Alfred Dellibovi, president, Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, as appeared on CNBC, September 5, 2007