Following up with a previous post we made regarding a large stock cashout by Countrywide Financial’s CEO, CNN is reporting that a large pension plan heavily invested in Countrywide Financial has asked the board of directors to oust Chairman and CEO Angelo Mozilo.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which counts 1.4 million members, made the request in a letter sent to the company’s board late Thursday.
The union-affiliated pension plan also asked the company to name two independent directors to the board and replace its executive compensation committee with people who have not played a role in the committee’s actions, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The company has been the target of shareholder lawsuits claiming it has misrepresented its financial condition, and U.S. securities regulators are examining Mozilo’s own sales of the company’s stock.
It will be interesting to watch how this unfolds. How an executive can cash out an enormous amount of stock just a few days before (and even the days during) a flood of negative news about the company and the market they do business in? Considering the situation in the mortgage market and all the negative publicity it’s been receiving in the mainstream media, it’s unlikely that this story will be forgotten anytime soon.
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