Yesterday, I wrote about the testimony of a former Countrywide loan officer who said that both Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad were aware that they had participated in a VIP program sponsored by former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo.
Despite the headlines about the testimony (including my own), it turns out that Dodd and Conrad really shouldn't be lumped together on this.
First, let's look at Dodd's situation:
- Dodd's defenders say his first contact with Countrywide on the loans in question came when his wife called up the company using a 1-800 number from their website. The testimony was consistent with this.
- According to Dodd, he was automatically enrolled in a VIP program, but not at his request. The testimony was also consistent with this.
- Based on a review of publicly available loan rates by Dodd's office and media reports, Dodd did not receive preferential treatment on the terms of his loan. Dodd and his wife both have excellent credit scores. The loans they took -- 5/1 Jumbo ARMs -- were offered with initial 4.25% and 4.5% interest rates, which were at or above the market rate at the time. (Dodd's website has details on this, including links to independent media validation of this point.)
- The one "deal" Dodd may have have gotten was the waiver of up-front points on the loans, a $2,700 benefit. However, such waivers are common, and given that Dodd could have gotten a cheaper loan with a different lender, the benefit does not appear substantial.
In short, while Dodd was was enrolled in a VIP program at Countrywide, it does not appear that he requested that status and it didn't result in favorable loan terms. If he could do it all over again, he wouldn't have taken the loan through Countrywide -- not only would he have avoided all the negative publicity, but he probably could have gotten a better deal.
After I put up my post, I got several e-mails from people correcting the record about Senator Dodd, pointing me in the direction of the defense outlined above.
Aside from the substance of their e-mails, it told me that there's a lot of people out there who love him, and are fighting for him.
In contrast, I didn't get a single e-mail defending Kent Conrad, who, when he sought a loan from Countrywide, had his friend Jim Johnson arrange a phone call with Angelo Mozilo, the company's CEO. Conrad says he doesn't think there is anything unusual about calling a mortgage giant's CEO to get a loan. Yeah, right.
Conrad received a one-point discount on a million dollar loan for a vacation home (he has since donated $10,700 to charity to offset the value of the discount) and was given a loan on an eight-unit apartment building even though Countrywide lending rules restricted such loans to four-unit buildings.
It's possible that the reason why nobody defended Kent Conrad is that Conrad put himself in a worse position, but it's also likely because less people want to defend Kent Conrad. In recent weeks and months, Conrad has been sticking his base in the eye with a hot poker on health reform, while Chris Dodd has been working on hard to do the right thing.
There's no doubt Chris Dodd has got a tough campaign ahead of him. But he's got a loyal base of support, and he's working hard to deliver for it. The chips are down for him, and his supporters are defending him.
For Kent Conrad, not so much. And as time goes on, he's just going to find himself in a lonelier and lonelier position.