Change to Win takes aim at Countrywide CEO

More TU shareholder activism, US-style:

CtW Investment Group Demands Resignation of Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo

Letter: CEO’s Massive Stock Sales Have Eroded Investor Confidence

The CtW Investment Group has demanded that the Countrywide Financial Corporation Board of Directors immediately secure the resignation of Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo.

“The SEC investigation into Mr. Mozilo’s insider stock sales has destroyed what little remaining confidence shareholders have in Mozilo,” said William Patterson, Executive Director of the CtW Investment Group. “It is now time for the board to seek new leadership.”

A letter sent on October 19 to Lead Director Harley W. Snyder also points to Mozilo’s tolerance of a “culture of non-compliance” at Countrywide, noting recent press reports that the company systematically pressed borrowers into high-cost loans. Such actions, the CtW Investment Group argues, inflated the share price during the mortgage boom but ultimately exposed the company to extensive litigation and drove the stock into free-fall.

The CtW Investment Group works with pension funds sponsored by unions affiliated with Change to Win, a federation of unions representing nearly 6 million members, to enhance long-term shareholder value through active ownership. Collectively, Taft-Hartley funds sponsored by CtW affiliates are substantial long-term Countrywide shareholders, with an estimated 3.5 million shares.