Subprime Accountability, Live from Charlotte

 
On Friday afternoon, Richard Moore appeared on CNBC’s “Power Lunch: Live from Charlotte,” and discussed his recent efforts to inject some accountability into the subprime mortgage industry that has rattled financial markets nationally and caused countless numbers of Americans to lose their homes.  Click play to watch the video:


Richard’s making the Countrywide Financial Corporation account for its business model which entailed taking advantage of its customers by qualifying them for loans they were unable to pay back – a tactic that may have produced an increase in short-term profits, but at the expense of long-term value.   That's bad business – bad for investors, bad for consumers, and bad for the economy.  As Richard said, “If you take advantage of your customer, they’re not going to be your customer for very long.”

Recently it was revealed that Countrywide’s CEO cashed in $138 million worth of stock options just before the stock went into a tailspin.  Richard called for an investigation into whether those numbers were real or inflated, and whether the CEO’s convenient claim that it was for “ retirement purposes” holds water.

This is only the latest battle in Richard’s crusade to bring the values of Main Street to Wall Street.  It’s a story that’s just taking off, so be sure to stay tuned to RichardMoore.org for updates.

— Jay Reiff

Campaign Manager