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Countrywide treats bankers at Ritz in Avon

By James R. Hagerty and Damian Paletta , The Wall Street Journal

Published February 23, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek hosts Countrywide gathering next week.

Photo by Ritz-Carlton

Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek hosts Countrywide gathering next week.

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The U.S. home-mortgage industry is in the dumps. That doesn't mean the party is over for mortgage bankers.

Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender by loan volume, will host about 30 representatives of smaller mortgage banks for three nights next week at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch ski resort in Avon. At one of the country's most-glamorous skiing spots, a regular room on a weekday starts at $750.

The first items on the agenda for guests arriving Monday evening are cocktails and ski fittings. Next is dinner at the Spago restaurant, whose menu includes Kobe steak with wasabi potato puree for $105. (For the budget-minded, pan-roasted buffalo filet with Kabocha pumpkin flan is $54.)

The annual event is for bankers at correspondent lenders, which originate loans and then sell them to Countrywide. The Calabasas, Calif., lender is paying for hotel rooms, meals, skiing and tips, according to a program distributed to attendees.

Many companies entertain business partners in luxurious settings, of course. But this event stands out because of the company's circumstances. Countrywide's board agreed last month to sell to Bank of America Corp. for about $4 billion, less than a fifth of its market value 12 months earlier.

Rising defaults and falling home prices led to losses of about $1.6 billion at Countrywide in the second half of 2007, and the company has reduced its work force by 11,400, or 19 percent, since July. Countrywide's servicing arm, which collects payments and handles other administrative tasks, has about 90,000 loans in foreclosure, or 1 percent of the total.

Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat who has been pushing Countrywide and others to do more for people facing foreclosure, called on Countrywide to cancel the trip and devote the money to refinancing distressed homeowners.

Countrywide, which declined to comment, has argued in recent news releases that it is making efforts to keep distressed borrowers in their homes. Among them are agreements with nonprofit consumer-advocacy groups to negotiate loan solutions for borrowers.

Zachary Urban, who manages the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline, said Friday that Countrywide represents about 14 percent of the calls the hotline receives.

"It would be great if they would come down here (to Denver) after they're done with their mountain retreat," Urban said. "On their way back to DIA, they should stop by and take a few calls."