Mozilo Predicted U.S. Housing Collapse as Fed Overlooked Risk

Former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo warned as early as 2004 of a possible housing-market collapse while the Federal Reserve overlooked the threat a year later, according to documents released by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

“Not only at Countrywide, but also with other lenders, there is a clear deterioration in the credit quality of loans being originated,” he wrote to company executives on Sept. 1, 2004. “The type of loans currently being originated combined with the unprecedented stretching of all aspects of credit standards could cause a bump in the road that could bring with it catastrophic consequences.”