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Mozillo's Email Furor & Mr. Bailey's Idiocy

I have a hard time feeling sorry for Mr. Bailey…..

First things first. Angelo, disable the “reply” button in outlook. Less problems going forward.

“This is unbelievable,” Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide’s (CFC) CEO wrote Tuesday. “Most of these letters now have the same wording. Obviously they are being counseled by some other person or by the Internet. Disgusting.”

Mozilo apparently clicked “reply” instead of “forward,” sending his comments back to Bailey rather than forwarding them to the intended recipient. Baily then posted the email on online forums.

Daniel Bailey Jr., asked the company to modify his adjustable-rate mortgage. He said he didn’t fully understand the terms, was wrongly told he could refinance after a year and was on the verge of losing his home of 16 years because of unaffordable payments. His e-mail went to 20 Countrywide addresses and he used language from a form letter from a website, which offers advice to borrowers in trouble.

Now, had Mr. Baily been laid off from a job, or disabled he would garner sympathy. But, let’s be honest. He decided to refi the house and cash out equity to the max and repay is as cheaply as possible. Greed. The market turned against him and now he is holding the bag. Oh well….

He admits he signed documents “without understanding them”. Why? If he is a big enough boy to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars he ought to be big enough to either understand what he is signing or suffer the consequences of his actions.

While a terrible PR move given the current political environment and the pending Bank of America (BAC) merger, Mozillo is right, being stupid is no reason to be given a break…..

Disclosure (“none” means no position):None

Todd Sullivan's- ValuePlays

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