It seems the smarminess of Countrywide Financial’s CEO, Angelo Mozilo, is now so far reaching as to smear the reputation of Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. According to the Wall Street Journal, many politicos got special treatment with loan approvals done by Mozilo himself. This group came to be known inside the company as “Friends of Mozilo”.

Mortgage banking behemoths Wells Fargo and Countrywide Home Loans are dealing with ongoing and more recent charges of predatory lending. Predatory lending is a moniker usually reserved for the most egregious examples of unscrupulous lending behavior. The consumer groups ACORN and NACA are recently shining the light on what mortgage brokers like myself have known for a very long time…

Merrill Lynch yesterday downgraded the stock of Countrywide Home Loans (CFC ticker symbol) and speculated on the analyst call just how they could go bankrupt. First this was irresponsible and reckless on the part of Merrill…or was it?

Since the call yesterday a lot has happened:

1. The stock has fallen about 10 points.