Was Conrad in a position of influence regarding the Countrywide?
Committee on Finance
Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy
Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth (Chairman)
Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee
Conrad obtained a $1.16 million loan from Countrywide in 2002 to buy his vacation home, then refinanced twice through the company. Portfolio reported that an internal e-mail from Mozilo instructed an employee to give Conrad a 1-percent discount off his interest rate on his 2004 refinance of $1.07 million, a savings of about $10,000 a year in interest payments.
Conrad said the terms he received each time he did business with Countrywide were no better than market rates, particularly given that he had good credit and a spotless payment history.
But he said his former loan officer has since acknowledged to Conrad that Countrywide dropped the rate a full percentage point.
“If they did me a favor, they did it without my knowledge and without my requesting it,” Conrad said. “It’s an appearance issue, but in terms of substance, I have not done one single thing wrong here.”
‘The borrower is a senator’
Countrywide also made an exception in lending Conrad $96,000 in 2004 to buy an 8-unit apartment building from his brothers. The company had a policy of only providing loans for buildings of four units or fewer.
“They said they frequently made exceptions, especially for good customers, and I was a very good customer,” Conrad said.
An internal e-mail from Mozilo, however, said the exception was “due to the fact that the borrower is a senator,” according to the Portfolio report.
other participants in the company’s VIP program included former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador and assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25140560/ns/politics-capitol_hill/
Mozilo has been charged with civil fraud and illegal insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission. He denies any wrongdoing.
Asked by a House investigator if Conrad, the North Dakota senator, "was aware that he was getting preferential treatment?" Feinberg answered: "Yes, he was aware."