By Alex Veiga
Associated Press
Monday, January 28, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27 -- Countrywide Financial chief executive Angelo R. Mozilo, under fire over the size of his potential payout from the proposed sale of his troubled mortgage company, says he is forfeiting $37.5 million in severance pay, fees and perks he was scheduled to receive upon retirement.

Mozilo, however, will retain retirement benefits and deferred compensation that he has already earned, Countrywide said in a statement to be released Monday.

In addition to cash severance payments, Mozilo also walked away from $400,000 per year he was to be paid under an agreement to serve as a consultant to the company following his retirement, and perks including the use of a private airplane, the company said.

"I believe this decision is the right thing to do as Countrywide works toward the successful completion of the merger with Bank of America," Mozilo said in the prepared statement.

Countrywide of Calabasas, Calif., agreed this month be acquired by Bank of America for $4.1 billion.

Mozilo is not slated to receive any cash payments tied to the completion of the acquisition, the company noted. He has come under criticism since the deal was announced and reports suggested he stood to receive a multimillion-dollar payout when he leaves the company.

Mozilo had been in line to receive a package, including retirement pay and stock, of nearly $66 million, according to estimates by the Hay Group, a compensation consulting company. Other estimates have suggested that Mozilo's payout could have exceeded $110 million.

Now, he'll leave with a pension and executive retirement plan that totaled $23.8 million as of December 2006, according to the most recent proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.