Leave the brand, take the cannoli

Take a good look at this corporate logo, because it won't be around much longer. Bank of America says it won't keep the Countrywide brand alive after it closes its deal to acquire the company in the third quarter. Although BofA decided to let U.S. Trust keep its name after acquiring that company last year, it may be "eager to distance itself from the Countrywide brand, given the scrutiny its lending -- and collection -- practices are now receiving in the wake of the nation's housing bubble," the Nashville Business Journal reports.

It's true that Countrywide has become something of a poster child for the excesses of subprime lending, even though most of the loans it made during the housing boom weren't subprime. Countrywide got out of the subprime game when the credit crunch hit last August, but rising losses on its loan portfolio and difficulties borrowing money to make new loans forced the company to agree to be acquired by BofA in January (some view hearings on the merger as mostly a formality).

Company founder Angelo Mozilo's huge compensation package has rankled lawmakers, and the company's disclosure Thursday that Mozilo made more than $100 million in 2007 (through the exercise of stock options and other compensation) has set off another round of grousing.

Reuters reports that in a year Countrywide lost more than $700 million and the company's stock fell 79 percent, Mozilo made $121.5 million exercising stock options and was awarded another $22.1 million in compensation.

The SEC filing Reuters bases its estimate of Mozilo's earnings on also breaks down the compensation of board members like former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros and ex-California Treasurer Kathleen Brown.

Cisneros -- who recently found himself in the awkward position of having to defended Countrywide in the press after the company came under fire from his favorite presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton -- received $190,596 in cash and stock awards in 2007.

Brown, whose brother Jerry is California's attorney general, resigned from Countrywide's board on March 29, 2007 -- just a few days before 6,035 shares of restricted Countrywide stock earmarked for her would have vested. But Brown's fellow board members and Countrywide's compensation committee cut her some slack, approving a $204,285 cash payment to her -- the value of the shares on the date they were forfeited.

Brown is head of West Coast Municipal Finance for Goldman, Sachs & Co., which Countrywide said "provides a significant amount of financing and provides advisory and other services to the company and the company’s subsidiaries under various arrangements."

Brown herself "did not provide any services to the company, the company’s subsidiaries or the company’s executives or receive any compensation related to any of these arrangements," Countrywide's SEC filing said.

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