Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

re: Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Peter Gazitano — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:03:12 GMT

Oh, how they spend our money. Oh, how they misuse their power and privilege for personal profit. What did Gandhi call it in his Seven Deadly Sins?..."Politics without Principle." Say, whatever happened to those big shots who were potential Obama appointees - you know, the ones who cheated on their taxes? What's going on with Charles Rangel? How can anyone deny that America has a caste system? Remember (you probably won't and you'll get screwed again) fellow struggling wage earners - who would get tossed into the clink for doing what the powerful politicians do and get away with- "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was only a movie. Nice going, Mr. Dodd.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Balance — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Phil Gramm and the deregulation posse are to blame for the mortgage mess. Dodd paid less points than the average. I have no political clout but paid no points on my mortgage. Points are negotiable fees.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

alexey — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Please read this: you must write your elected officials and ask them to investigate Dodd, et. al. There are two reasons for this: they are powerful men who can twist your life and they have no business getting deals that the rest of us cannot. Please do not think I am partisan here. I don't care who he is: this was not a sunshine deal and Mr. Obama and Mr McCain both should say it was wrong and that they would never allow anyone who was tainted like the guys who got these sweetheart loans on their respective tickets.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

KEN — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Senator Dodd is responsible for maintaining oversight of the Banking industry, in fact he is the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Clearly he should not be taking sweatheart deals because it gives an appearance of a sweatheart deal with a mortage company in trouble...he must maintain some level of ethical standards even if he is a United States Senator!!!

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Pam — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Agree that this is a non-issue. The person above who thinks this is criminal may not be familiar with the industry. All rates, points, fees and terms are negotiable when obtaining a mortgage. Every mortgage loan can and will be priced differently, based on the borrower's characteristics, how hard the deal is, what rates are that day, the "profit" motive of the lender or broker, the size of the loan, the type of transaction being requested, and so on...there is never just "one" rate offered on a given day, and mortgage lenders regularly offer loans to borrowers a lower rates for a long list of reasons - the better the customer the lower the rate. If you want lower rates, you Have to ask for them or you will get the highest rate available! No different than negotiating the price on a car.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Bill — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Come on everyone, Countrywide internal memo's from the president of the company directing his people to discount loans for these senators is light of the recent troubles by CW and comments by these same senators is certainly questionable at the least.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Dave — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

I have a hard time believing that Dodd would have been so vocal against Countrywide if he'd gotten a good deal.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Cordell — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

No big deal here. Just someone grinding a political ax. Ive been doing mortgages for over 5 years and this is pretty common. Only a sucker accepts the first rate quoted and a savvy buyer always asks for better pricing. Dodd is free to work to get the best loan anywhere he goes and he is still right about CWs pricing. Its fair to some and unfair to the uninformed.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

While I love how the media is spinning this - any company could give these discounts to their better clients. I've constantly done this for our military customers, and return clients.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Joe — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

No crime was committed. He just gave good deals to friends and family just like I do for good friends and family members.Just because he did not charge the inflated fees as usual does not mean a crime occurred.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Patricia — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

This story is a non-story. Dodd is NOT dumb, contrary to a previous poster. Dodd and his wife were consumers. They received three quoted from three seperate companies all within the same range. They chose the best one adn Angelo had NOTHING to do with it. The Portfolio story doesn'toffer ANY proof - just speculation. It's BS and frankly, a Seantor with Dodd's reputation deserves better.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Chris — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Actually, the savings works out to $75,000 for Senator Dodd across the life of his two loans lower interest payments and waived fees, according to the Portfolio.com report, which was written by a decorated reporter formerly at the Wall Street Journal. Its an outrage and there may be criminal violations of a number of different laws, from lobbying to securities law.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Dawn — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

This is no shocker to me and hopefully to no one else!! CW is the WORST mortgage company I have ever had the displeasure of knowing!! They are a CRAPPY company and I wish that Bof A had not bought them and they went bankrupt!!!!

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

juan — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Come'on now we all know by now .If you look dirty it does't matter if you are innocent or not.By the they rich raise there taxes.

RE:Two Senators Appear to be "Friends of Countrywide"

Roger Ingalls — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:00:00 GMT

CW retail loans are ALL over priced. Any semi-intelligent shopper could have gotten a similar deal from a competent broker. Senators and Congressmen need home loans: are they not entitled to shop for the best deal a bank is willing to give them? Where is the evidence that any of these pols engaged in quid pro quo? Find another story, to demonstrate abuse of power and access, there's plenty to pick from.