‘Dumbest moments’ of 2008

If you thought the former Countrywide CEO couldn’t sink any lower, think again. Already under attack as the overpaid, over-tanned and over-zealous pioneer of subprime mortgages, Angelo Mozilo doesn’t do himself any favors in May after reading a customer’s e-mailed plea for help with his home loan. Intending to forward the missive to a colleague, Mozilo instead hits ‘reply all’ and sends a response calling the beleaguered homeowner’s request ‘unbelievable’ and ‘disgusting.’ ‘Most of letters now have the same wording,’ grouses Mozilo. ‘Obviously they are being counseled by some other person or by the internet.’ Mozilo’s heartfelt reply makes its way onto the Internet -- and the onetime real estate king finds himself out of a job after Bank of America acquires Countrywide in July.

Fannie Mae CEO Dan Mudd proves once again that his crystal ball is malfunctioning. In May, Mudd predicts that the government-sponsored mortgage lender will ‘feast’ on weakened competition in the mortgage market -- even as its own prospects dim amid mounting credit losses and asset writedowns. By September, on the brink of collapse, Fannie gets a new owner -- Uncle Sam -- and Mudd loses a job.

Remember Hope for Homeowners? We didn’t think so. In July, Congress passes the only housing rescue to date: a plan to guarantee up to $300 billion worth of mortgages and prevent more than 300,000 foreclosures. But to participate, banks must take steep losses -- and doing so is voluntary. The anti-climactic upshot: A piddling 321 applications have been filed since the program’s Oct. 1 launch -- and not one loan workout has been completed, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.