Angelo Mozilo

Angelo Mozilo grew up in the Bronx in a working-class Italian-American family and began his career as a messenger boy at a mortgage company at age 14. He co-founded Countrywide Credit Industries with David Loeb in 1969 with $500,000 in capital and the vision of expanding homeownership in America. Over the next three decades Countrywide became the largest mortgage lender in the United States, holding approximately 40% of the US mortgage market at its peak. Mozilo's aggressive salesmanship, willingness to expand into new mortgage products, and relentless growth orientation transformed the company from a small savings institution into a mortgage machine. From 2003 onward Countrywide dramatically expanded its subprime mortgage business, offering no-documentation loans, adjustable-rate mortgages with low teaser rates, and other exotic products to borrowers who often could not afford them under standard underwriting. As house prices began to fall in 2006-2007 and subprime defaults rose, Countrywide's business deteriorated rapidly. It was sold to Bank of America for approximately $4 billion in January 2008 — a fraction of its earlier value. The SEC charged Mozilo with securities fraud for selling $140 million of his own stock while publicly expressing confidence in the company; he settled for $67.5 million.