August 20, 2007

FLASH: And then right on schedule the layoffs started at could-go-bankrupt Countrywide Mortgage

Yup, still short CFC...

Hope Angelo can unload a few hundred more million dollars of shares QUICK!!

Report: Countrywide laying off loan originatorsMonday August 20, 12:36 pm ET

Countrywide Financial Corp. has started laying off loan originators, according to a report in Monday's Wall Street Journal, as the credit crunch continues to impact the nation's largest mortgage lender.


The layoffs hit the company's Full Spectrum unit, which handles "Alt-A" loans, which fall between the prime and subprime categories and often are for those applying for loans that don't document their income.

The number of employees laid off was not disclosed. Full Spectrum employed a sales force of about 6,800, with Countrywide as a whole sporting a loan-origination sales force of about 18,000

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is good, it creates less payroll. LOL

Anonymous said...

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lowe's profit surges, some crash

Anonymous said...

First Magnus in Tucson layoffs last week have sent fear through Tucson too. . .by one newspaper account, the largest Tucson employer. . .the sh$t is hitting the fan all over. . .there really is fear in the streets here in San Diego - weekend talks turned nasty when real estate came up - people have to change retirement plans. . .people have to sell the Porche, sell the boat. . .whoa! Boat prices are dropping - used car prices are dropping -

Time for me to get a new car. . .in 2001, I drove up and down the consignment lots of El Camino Real (Silicon Valley) and cherry picked a nice red Vette for pennies on the dollar - it is now 10 years old (but a classic). . .so guess I will find a nice new car in a few months down here in SD. . .at Repo-Cars.

Unknown said...

So much for Countrywide being a "top-conditioned athlete".

Mozilo is your typical arrogant, dunderhead CEO.

Anonymous said...

NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday ran advertisements seeking to reassure customers it's safe to do business with the company, while a published report said the largest U.S. mortgage lender has begun layoffs to help cope with a credit crunch.

The company ran full-page ads in Monday editions of The New York Times and other newspapers assuring customers that problems in the mortgage market don't affect the safety of federally-insured deposits at its Countrywide Bank unit. It also said the bank is "well capitalized" and that "the future is bright."

Countrywide did not immediately return several requests for comment.

Anonymous said...

This is AWSOME news!!!

BIG layoffs means CFC stock price will go up for a short period of time!!! har har har

To ALL countrywide employees:

You're FIRED!!!

Anonymous said...

Where ever you see an ad from this and other scumbag lenders on the internet don't forget to click there ad. Everytime you click their ads they have to give money to that site. Lets hurt them where it hurts.

Anonymous said...

Dam I panicked Friday and sold my CFC PUTS. I made 800% return in the last few months but it would have been nice to ride em into the ground. Next up Harley Davidson can't sell em without HELOCS.

Anonymous said...

Looks like US Treasury yields just imploded.

China should be launching escape pods very soon.

Out at the peak said...

I shorted CFC again (third time) on Friday. I should have never covered, but at least I have made decent profits from the obvious credit disaster.

Now that CFC is around my original wishful target of $18-$20, I feel like I'm taking larger risk.

I wouldn't make new bets too heavy right now even though it is possible that CFC could file BK in 2-4 months. I'll take smaller positions on the relatively big upswings (like Friday).

For existing positions, ride that puppy down!

dwr said...

"lowe's profit surges, some crash"

Don't just read the headlines (and FYI corps can manipulate profits pretty easily in the short term, it's a little harder to fake the revenue):

"Still, decreasing sales at stores open at least a year, worsening trends in the housing market and uncertainty over credit quality led the Mooresville, N.C.-based retailer to trim its earnings outlook for the full year."

Anonymous said...

Index Suggests U.S. Economic Expansion!
.
.
Oil Prices Fall!
.
.
Lowes profits surge!
.
.
Personal Income Up!
.
.
Inflation in check!
.
.
Home Prices higher!
.
.
some crash DOPES!
.
.
Stupid Renters!

Anonymous said...

Surprise, surprise...PPT came to the rescue on Monday to bring market into positive territory. Just look at the graphs to see the line straight up the last half-hour of trade. That's PPT at work. Does anyone still believe in this rigged system?

Anonymous said...

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I put periods in my posts to take up room and make my meaningless post seem larger, some troll.

Anonymous said...

Hey Keith, call the Ron Paul campaign to ask for an interview with Ron Paul to be posted here.

Mammoth said...

Just like if you're in an airplane and it begins a nosedive toward the ground. The pilot announces over the intercom, "We are sailing along smoothly, folks. There is absolutely nothing to worry about."

Yup - that's a real confidence builder.
----------------
Countrywide Financial Corp on Monday ran advertisements seeking to reassure customers it's safe to do business with the company,...

Anonymous said...

Hey Keith, call the Ron Paul campaign to ask for an interview with Ron Paul to be posted here.

no doubt Keith...He'd probably be surprised at how much support he has here.

Personally...I wouldn't have heard of him if I didn't read your blog.

Anonymous said...

severance pay came with coupon book loaded for discounts at Tan Company...

a pair of tanning goggles...

Brazilian tanning thong...

large supply of Hawaiian Tropic

Anonymous said...

Per CNBC Greenpoint is toast. Per mtg. broker in HI, it's not layoffs at Spectrum Lending but a complete shutdown.

Anonymous said...

And another one gone, reported just 15 minutes ago by WSJ:


Capital One Shuts Down GreenPoint Mortgage Unit
By Valerie Bauerlein

Capital One Financial Corp. plans to shut down its struggling GreenPoint mortgage unit, becoming the latest casualty in the mortgage meltdown.

Capital One bought GreenPoint in last year's $13.2 billion purchase of North Fork Bancorp, of Melville, N.Y. North Fork had earlier paid $6.3 billion for GreenPoint Financial Corp., then a large N.Y. savings-and-loan specializing in mortgages.

The unit specialized in so-called nonconforming loans, which do not meet the ...

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They always do this AFTER the market closes, any bets on where the market would have closed if they'd announced it one hour before the closing bell? The PPT would have had their hands full, now we'll have to wait for the plunge tomorrow.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! :))

Anonymous said...

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Is this post long enough for you?
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RENTER!

Caveat Emptor said...

Here goes another one. From WSJ OnLine:

Capital One Shuts Down
GreenPoint Mortgage Unit
Plans to Close 31 Locations
And Eliminate 1,900 Jobs
By VALERIE BAUERLEIN
August 20, 2007 4:42 p.m.

Capital One Financial Corp. plans to shut down its struggling GreenPoint mortgage unit, becoming the latest casualty in the mortgage meltdown.

Capital One bought GreenPoint in last year's $13.2 billion purchase of North Fork Bancorp, of Melville, N.Y. North Fork had earlier paid $6.3 billion for GreenPoint Financial Corp., then a large N.Y. savings-and-loan specializing in mortgages.

The unit specialized in so-called nonconforming loans, which do not meet the standards set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored providers of mortgage funds. GreenPoint specialized in "jumbo" loans above the $417,000 limit and Alt-A loans to home buyers who do not fully document their income or assets.

Citing great difficulty selling loans to the secondary market, Capital One officials said the bank will closing GreenPoint's 31 locations and eliminating 1,900 jobs immediately. The credit-card giant said the subsidiary would not make any more new mortgages but will fund those in the pipeline with locked-in rates.

In a statement, Capital One, McLean, Va., said it will take an after-tax charge this year of $860 million, or $2.15 per share. The company is revising downward its 2007 earnings guidance to approximately $5 per share.

Capital One made its name in the direct marketing of no-fee credit cards but has been on a two-year quest to become a full-service bank.

Capital One was optimistic when it acquired GreenPoint that the mortgage unit's national footprint and infrastructure would give it immediate scale and a growing earnings stream. But the housing market slowed shortly after the purchase and investors cooled on nonconforming mortgages.

Capital One lost $9.69 million on its mortgage unit in the first half. The company said recently that it was slowing the origination of new mortgages to drain its pipeline but was still having trouble selling packaged mortgages and could not easily hold them.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard D. Fairbank said in an internal memo Monday to employees that the decision was "the function of an unprecedented set of market circumstances."

Anonymous said...

DOPES said...
Index Suggests U.S. Economic Expansion!
.
.
Oil Prices Fall!
.
.
Lowes profits surge!
.
.
Personal Income Up!
.
.
Inflation in check!
.
.
Home Prices higher!
.
.
some crash DOPES!
.
.
Stupid Renters!

August 20, 2007 8:46 PM
---------------
NEXT TIME TRY CONNECTING THE DOTS WITH FACTS e.g.:
Capital One bank closes wholesale mortgage unit, cuts 1900 jobs, takes $100 million charge. More soon.

DUMB@$$

Anonymous said...

When will you be visiting planet *earth*?

~~~

DOPES said...
Index Suggests U.S. Economic Expansion!
.
.
Oil Prices Fall!
.
.
Lowes profits surge!
.
.
Personal Income Up!
.
.
Inflation in check!
.
.
Home Prices higher!
.
.
some crash DOPES!
.
.
Stupid Renters!

Anonymous said...

On a personnal note:

The brother of a friend of mine started working for CountryWide after having his IT/marketing job outsourced to India - like so many others.

Now, this man with 6-children, will loose his job at CountryWide.
This man is fortunate in that his
own mother has allowed him and his 6 children to live with her until he can get back on his feet.

Living expenses continue to rise, as wages remain stagnant for the majority of US citizens.

Our private sector is pretty much finished, and people even with 4 or more year college degrees can no longer find good paying careers.

These are the stories that we will start to hear about more frequently as the hosuing crisis takes it's toll on the broader economy.

Anonymous said...

when will you renters get it?
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If houses crash and the economy crashes and money is inflated to catch up to the prices.
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the people that bought will still have their houses, helped by you of course.
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and you will not be able to buy because your savings will be wiped out by inflation.
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you will still be behind and unable to catch up!
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good thing you saved that worthless cash.
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YOU MISSED OUT, YOU SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT!
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DOPEY RENTERS!
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Anonymous said...

DOPES said...
when will you renters get it?
.
.
If houses crash and the economy crashes and money is inflated to catch up to the prices.
.
.
the people that bought will still have their houses, helped by you of course.
.
.
and you will not be able to buy because your savings will be wiped out by inflation.
.
.
you will still be behind and unable to catch up!
.
.
good thing you saved that worthless cash.
.
.
YOU MISSED OUT, YOU SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT!
.
.
DOPEY RENTERS!
.
.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

August 20, 2007 10:47 PM
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Awe isn't it cute honey.

Eww don't touch it.

But honey its one of these post housiong bubble homeless dopes that took out a toxic loan, I fee sorry for it.

I don't care if you feed it or give it money it will just come back for more.

You're right honey, hand me that stick so I can get it out of the front yard.

mardav said...

CountryFried Monday

You have to love the duplicity of the Nation's Largest Lenders.....

"Countrywide Financial Corp., reducing costs as part of its effort to weather a credit crunch, has begun laying off employees involved in originating loans, according to an internal email.
....
Less than two weeks ago, Countrywide said it was hiring more loan officers from rivals forced to close down."

Where is the SEC?

I'm tired of this. Aren't you? How many times recently have we had a mortgage company tell us that everything was fine, citing old data that they knew was stale, and then just a week or two - or sometimes a day or two later we get the truth - and it ain't pretty!

Is this market manipulation? I think it is. I think its a raw, blatant attempt to manipulate the firm's stock price and mislead investors and I, for one, am tired of it. I'm losing count of the number of firms that have pulled something like this in recent weeks, and while I've had no position in most of them, there are thousands who bought stock after a press release like this made them comfortable that all was ok - only to find out that it was simply not true and bankruptcy was just around the corner.

Will it happen here? I have no way to know. But the pattern is eerily familiar.

Now in the interests of not misleading people, I'm short CFC. With what I believe to be damn good reason. But those who are long the stock, whether they be institutional holders or small retailer purchasers, have a right to expect that when a press release is made about how a firm has "adequate liquidity" it does not cite data that is more than a month old, when the problems that caused the liquidity crunch happened TWO WEEKS AGO!

While I'm at it, I have a very interesting email that was forwarded to me yesterday. I cannot authenticate it, but it brags, in quite plain language, that a primary broker/dealer and the sender both knew in advance that the Fed was going to cut the discount rate.

Oh, and the email says they traded on that information too.

If its not braggadocio, and reflects what really happened, that's illegal.

And yes, I forwarded it on to enforcement@sec.gov.

Not that I have any faith that anything will be done about it.

The cockroaches always come out when market dislocations occur. We usually find out later about all the nasty things that people were doing, and how ugly they really were. How many people lied. How many "analysts" were really in bed with the companies they were allegedly covering "for investors", treating the alleged Chinese Walls as toilet paper. It happened in the wreck of 2000, and its happening again.

Speaking of seeking Cockroaches, there's news on the wire that Countrywide may have the OTS seeking Cockroaches in their office fulltime.

"-Examiners at the Office of Thrift Supervision recently set up a full-time presence in a conference room at the Calabasas, Calif., headquarters of Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC), according to two people familiar with the matter." - Dow Jones Newswire

Anonymous said...

Mozilo is no dunderhead.

He knew the wealth ride would last
only so long, and then he exercised his share options (like any CEO would) and started to bail out.

The dunderheads are those still working for him, believing they won't be touched by the fall-out.

rcochran said...
So much for Countrywide being a "top-conditioned athlete".

Mozilo is your typical arrogant, dunderhead CEO

Anonymous said...

"Now, this man with 6-children, will loose his job at CountryWide."

Maybe if this man could only think ahead that having 6 children costs alot of money, then maybe he shouldnt have so many children.

Jobs are going to be way more difficult to come by in the future...

Anonymous said...

Guess I shouldn't ask for a raise then huh?

Anonymous said...

It's somewhat ironic that the very people who cashed-in on the housing frenzy over these past few years are now being laid off.

However, this is nothing to cheer or feel good about, since these people will only accelerate the crisis.

I hear alot of talk about "when the Fed will step in".
They'll only step in when they can see a realistic possibility of the problem hitting *their own* pocket-books.

By that time, it will be too late for millions of house debters, and more severely, the country as a whole.

Anonymous said...

Dear Dopes: Have you ever considered the horrors of eternal damnation? No? Then do consider it. Your commentary hints at avarice, haughtyness, greed, pride and a love of money. I once knew a man who kept a list of people at work that he believed were going to die because of their lifestyles. He was about 38 years old. His list had various reasons next to the names. He bragged about how he had 400K saved in the bank and he would soon retire. One day he went to the doctor because he had a slight cough. After a checkup they took him to a room and he was visited by a nun from a hospice. She handed him a card and said "for your last days". Yes, he had terminal cancer. He then knew the truth, God had put his name at the top of his list. His drunken brother inherited the 400K, he was the happiest man at the funeral.

Anonymous said...

Greenpoint, based in Queens, and probably based originally in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was the original no doc lender. The mafia didn't issue w-2's so it was hard to get a mortgage for some made men. In the old days Greenpoint would give you a no doc loan, but you had to have 25% down.

Anonymous said...

The comming blowback towards the baby bommers (from Gen X/Y) gets ever so closer by the day....

Anonymous said...



The brother of a friend of mine started working for CountryWide after having his IT/marketing job outsourced to India - like so many others.

Now, this man with 6-children, will loose his job at CountryWide.
This man is fortunate in that his
own mother has allowed him and his 6 children to live with her until he can get back on his feet.

Living expenses continue to rise, as wages remain stagnant for the majority of US citizens.

Our private sector is pretty much finished, and people even with 4 or more year college degrees can no longer find good paying careers.

These are the stories that we will start to hear about more frequently as the hosuing crisis takes it's toll on the broader economy.


Yes. This has been going on the last 4 years with Bush's obsession with outsourcing and cheap labor. The housing bubble hid the fact that we were losing good jobs and decent pay by making people think they were rich because of paper gains. Most people never once questioned how the ridiculously high housing prices would be supported in a country that is losing its middle class.

The average American has no clue as to how bad it's going to get.

Anonymous said...

I'll have to add to this comment because I appreciate the response from one of the many level-headed bloggers here who also sees clearly about this crisis:

It's the Average American who has made this country strong, and it's the loss of the Average American that will mean the undoing of life as we'd all like to live it in this country.

I hear so much about people shuttling their money from here to there - there is no safety net that will insulate us when more and more US citizens can no longer afford basic necessities in this country.

I just hope our wonderful FED catches on to the magnitude of this problem before it's too late.

Anonymous said...


The brother of a friend of mine started working for CountryWide after having his IT/marketing job outsourced to India - like so many others.

Now, this man with 6-children, will loose his job at CountryWide.
This man is fortunate in that his
own mother has allowed him and his 6 children to live with her until he can get back on his feet.

Living expenses continue to rise, as wages remain stagnant for the majority of US citizens.

Our private sector is pretty much finished, and people even with 4 or more year college degrees can no longer find good paying careers.

These are the stories that we will start to hear about more frequently as the hosuing crisis takes it's toll on the broader economy.

Yes. This has been going on the last 4 years with Bush's obsession with outsourcing and cheap labor. The housing bubble hid the fact that we were losing good jobs and decent pay by making people think they were rich because of paper gains. Most people never once questioned how the ridiculously high housing prices would be supported in a country that is losing its middle class.

The average American has no clue as to how bad it's going to get.

Anonymous said...

Mozilo needs to stop spending money on his tanning sessions and start using his $$$ to protect his company. Its too bad for the non-prime division because there are a lot of good people working hard for their families-- but now it looks they will be all out on the streets looking for a job while Mozilo relaxes in his mansion(s). We can only hope perhaps some changes may occur in legislation which can bring them back later.