Countrywide CEO got $120 million in 2006
Countrywide Financial Corp. said Thursday that profit was down. On Friday, it said that pay for Chief Executive Angelo R. Mozilo was up.
The founder of the nation’s largest mortgage lender made $48.1 million in salary, bonuses and stock-based compensation in 2006, according to a regulatory filing Friday, besting the $45.2 million he made in 2005.
He also exercised $72.2 million in stock options, compared with $119 million in 2005, for a total of $120.3 million last year.
“When pay goes in one direction and company performance goes in another, there’s something wrong with the compensation program,” said Richard Ferlauto of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Calabasas-based Countrywide reported a 37% drop in earnings for the first quarter. But Mozilo’s pay reflects 2006 results -- and the company’s profit was up 6% last year, or about the same proportion as the increase in Mozilo’s pay.
Countrywide executives declined to respond to Ferlauto’s comment but issued a statement saying Mozilo “has been the driving force behind the company’s success, motivating a talented workforce of more than 55,000 and leading Countrywide’s strategic growth.”
The breakdown for Mozilo:
* Salary: $2.86 million.
* Bonus: $20.46 million.
* Stock and option awards: $24.1 million.
* Value of company-paid perks, such as country club memberships and personal travel on the company jet: $643,205.
* Net value of options exercised in 2006: $72.2 million.
New federal rules also require the company to say how much Mozilo would walk away with if he were to quit, retire or be fired. The answer is a heavily nuanced “It depends.”
The company spelled out eight scenarios in its filing, with eight distinct payment plans.
If Mozilo leaves “for good reason,” he’d get $42.6 million, the company said. If he dies, his heirs get $50.6 million. The most lucrative deal would be triggered if he’s terminated after a change of control. It would net the 68-year-old executive $87.97 million.
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