Mozilo to forgo $37 million of severance pay

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Late news from the AP tonight: ‘Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo, under fire over the size of his potential payout from the proposed sale of his troubled mortgage company, says he is forfeiting some $37.5 million in severance pay, fees and perks he was scheduled to receive upon his retirement.’

More: ‘Mozilo, however, will still retain retirement benefits and deferred compensation that he has already earned, Countrywide said in a statement being released Monday.’

Here’s the Countrywide press release, in which Mozilo (pictured) says, ‘I believe this decision is the right thing to do as Countrywide works toward the successful completion of the merger with Bank of America.’

The AP figures Mozilo still has roughly $44 million coming to him: ‘Now, he’ll leave with a pension plan and supplemental executive retirement plan that totaled $23.8 million as of December 2006, according to the most recent proxy statement the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mozilo also accrued about $20.6 million in deferred compensation, according to the filing.’

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