Bank of America unveils payout for Countrywide execs
Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo to recieve $10M in stock, company president David Sambol will get $9 million plus an additional $28 million retention fee.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- The two top executives at Countrywide Financial Corp. -- the nation's largest mortgage lender -- are slated to receive a combined $19 million in payouts as part of the company's pending takeover by Bank of America, according to regulatory filing this week.
Countrywide (CFC, Fortune 500) CEO Angelo Mozilo is set to receive $10 million in stock and President David Sambol will get about $9 million, according to documents Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition, Sambol will receive another $28 million in cash and stock in order to keep him with the combined company, the document states.
Their compensation is tied directly to the performance of the company via stock and options that the executives have held over time, according to the filing.
Bank of America agreed in January to buy the struggling Countrywide for $4 billion. Mozilo and Sambol -- along with ex-Citigroup chief Charles Prince -- came under fire earlier this month by members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who chastised the executives for helping to foster the current mortgage crisis.
Lawmakers accused the executives of leaving homeowners at risk of losing their homes while fattening their own wallets. In their defense, the execs said they too lost billions in the subprime meltdown.
Mozilo, Sambol and Prince made headlines in the past year for their lofty compensation after their companies lost billions in the U.S. housing market. Between 2002 and the close of 2006, the three executives were paid $460 million, according to a report issued by the House committee in March.
Mozilo, who grew Countrywide from its modest beginnings into the nation's largest mortgage lender, reportedly stood to collect a windfall of $115 million after his firm agreed to a yet-to-be-completed sale to Bank of America. After facing heavy criticism from lawmakers, Mozilo forfeited $37.5 million in payments tied to the deal. 
