Is Countrywide another Enron?

Probably not that bad - but bad enough. Just ask the mortgage lender's ticked-off employees, who have filed suit in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, claiming that they suffered heavy losses in their 401(k) retirement accounts because they weren't warned of the company's financial troubles. The lawsuit seeks class-action status and names as defendants Countrywide CEO Angelo "Too-Tanned" Mozilo and benefits committee members in charge of the retirement plan. "Most of these employees weren't risk-takers; rather claims processors and line staff who go to work every morning, putting a little away every month for retirement, or to finance a child's education," said Steve Berman, who represents the plaintiffs (and can be excused for pouring it on a little thick). "With Countrywide's demise, they've seen their retirement funds decimated." No comment yet from the Calabasas-based company. The question of what Countrywide executives knew – and when they knew it – isn’t likely to go away, especially with the stock now trading at under $17 a share. Yowser. Mozilo's problem is that as late as last Spring, he was saying that Countrywide could actually benefit from the subprime problems of other lenders (he called them irrational competitors). Double yowser.

As for the Enron reference, you might recall all the heartache when employees of the corrupt energy company found themselves holding the equity bag. The Labor Department teamed up with the Texas Workforce Commission to help workers who were laid off in the wake of the bankruptcy - and who lost much of their retirement savings. Not that there was much they could do. "Enron's employees have gotten the short end of the stick in the sudden collapse of this company," Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said way back when.